Written questions by Dillon.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage nature-positive renewable energy development.

Government will ensure that the protection of nature is embedded into the delivery of clean power and we will be driving for nature to not only be protected but restored through clean power infrastructure. In delivering our Clean Power Action Plan, we are considering how to use development to fund nature recovery unlocking a win-win outcome for the economy and for nature. We are working with Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trust and one of our Clean Power Commissioners, nature delivery organisations and the sector to consider how we can better support the delivery of infrastructure whilst driving better environmental outcomes.

What recent assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in addressing online content that encourages, promotes or provides instructions relating to eating disorders.

The Government recognises the serious harm caused by online content that encourages, promotes or provides instructions relating to eating disorders.The Online Safety Act 2023 makes platforms legally responsible for keeping people, especially children, safe online. All providers must mitigate the risks of illegal harm, including encouraging serious self-harm, on their services. Services likely to be accessed by children must also take steps to mitigate risks to children, including exposure to content relating to eating disorders.Ofcom is responsible for ensuring that services uphold these duties. Its ‘Small But Risky Services Taskforce’ focuses on smaller platforms that host or promote the most acute harms, including self-harm and eating disorder content. These services are identified not by their size, but by the disproportionate level of harm they may present to UK users. The Taskforce has already engaged extensively with high-risk services associated with eating disorders and has assessed over 20 services relating to this harm, with over half identified as high-risk for eating disorder content.The Department continues to work across Government to ensure that online safety measures support wider public health objectives and protect children and young people from harmful content.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of data published by NHS England on waiting times for children and young people to begin community eating disorder treatment.

The Government keeps data published by NHS England on waiting times for children and young people’s community eating disorder services under close review.We recognise that demand for services has increased and that performance varies across the country. That is why we are reforming eating disorder services so that children and young people can access timely, effective support when they need it, rather than after their condition has escalated.This shift towards prevention and stronger community-based support underpins the new National Health Service guidance for children and young people’s eating disorder services. The Government is also recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers across the NHS to increase capacity and reduce unwarranted variation in waiting times.We will continue to work with NHS England and the integrated care boards to improve performance against national access standards and ensure children and young people can access high-quality care regardless of where they live.

What resources have been allocated to promote awareness of the LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme among isolated or digitally excluded veterans.

Defence is working closely with local councils, veteran employers, LGBT and Service charities, as well as the Services, to enhance awareness among affected veterans about the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme and how they may apply. As part of this outreach activity, we are working to identify effective ways of reaching veterans who have not yet engaged with the Scheme including those who are isolated or digitally excluded. The Government has allocated additional resources to support this work, including dedicated outreach funding.

Whether his Department plans to engage key stakeholders on the assumptions underpinning workforce modelling in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out action to create a National Health Service workforce able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.A formal call for evidence took place between 25 September and 7 November 2025, which provided stakeholders with the opportunity to contribute directly to the plan’s development. This was part of an ongoing and extensive programme of engagement, including several roundtables and an event hosted last year by ministers, which was attended by nearly one hundred representatives of partner organisations.Insight from this engagement has informed the development of assumptions underpinning the plan’s modelling, which will also be subject to independent scrutiny from external experts.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times in Impact Panel decisions under the LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme.

Defence is committed to ensuring that applications to the LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme are considered fairly and processed as quickly as possible.  We recognise the importance of timely decisions, and are prioritising applications for those aged over 80, those with serious health conditions and those experiencing serious financial hardship. We have already taken steps reduce waiting times, by increasing the number of dedicated staff supporting the Scheme and doubling the number of Independent Panel sittings to two per week, to expedite the processing of applications.  Steps are being taken to increase the capacity of the Independent Panel, including the recruitment of an additional Chair and additional Panel Members, to allow it to sit up to three times per week. Defence will keep capacity under review and consider further adjustments if necessary.

What steps he is taking to establish a national delivery model for NHS-commissioned clinical services for pupils in schools.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. The National Health Service is responsible for meeting the health needs of children and young people diagnosed with an illness or medical condition, including long term conditions.On 5 February 2026, NHS England published ‘Standardising community health services – core component descriptions’ to support integrated care boards’ strategic commissioning of Community Health Services. This guidance sets out the core components and responsibilities of a special school nursing service and community children's nursing service, including the roles of these services in supporting children with medical conditions to access education settings. The document is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/standardising-community-health-services-core-component-descriptions/

What progress is being made towards meeting the 18-week referral-to-treatment standard, as set out in the Elective Recovery Plan.

NHS England’s Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 set a target that, by the end of March 2026, 65% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks.To achieve this, we expect the size of the total waiting list to reduce and have already made significant progress. As of December 2025, the waiting list had reduced by over 330,000 since the Government came into office. This is despite 31.7 million referrals onto the waiting list. Performance against the referral to treatment standard had improved by 2.7% over the same period, reaching 61.5%.This has been supported by the delivery of 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025 compared to the previous year, more than double the Government’s pledge of two million. This marked a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the VAT implications of the Places of Worship Grant Scheme on historic churches, particularly those providing warm community spaces.

The Places of Worship Renewal fund will have a budget of £23 million per year, continuing the 2025/26 funding levels of the previous scheme. The new fund will award grants for total project capital works rather than being restricted solely to the VAT element. By shifting the focus to overall project costs, the scheme ensures that in many instances, the financial support granted to preserve these historic community spaces could exceed the amount currently provided under the VAT-only model. While an official estimate of the specific impact of VAT implications on those churches that provide warm community spaces has not been calculated, the design of the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund is intended to offer broader support for historic churches than simply rebating VAT, including those churches serving as vital community hubs.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to provide guidance to local authorities on working in partnership with Warm Welcome Spaces located in heritage faith buildings as part of local wellbeing and community support provision.

We recognise the value of religious heritage buildings in local communities and the important role they play in the UK’s national story. Listed places of worship are far more than bricks and mortar; they are at the hearts of our communities, serving as vital hubs for food banks, warm spaces, and social care. The new £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund will bring support for these important buildings into line with other heritage assets. Warm Welcome Spaces can support improving social connection and reducing loneliness. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have an active partnership with the Warm Welcome Campaign, aimed at strengthening community connection and supporting customer wellbeing. DWP has promoted Warm Welcome widely across the Jobcentre network so colleagues, including those in Local Authorities, are aware of the offer and can confidently guide customers to local Warm Welcome Spaces.

What plans she has to reduce retail crime in rural areas.

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime. All communities, including rural communities, will benefit from and are included in these reforms.We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March. We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence. Again, these changes are applicable to all types of communities, including those defined as rural.We are equipping the police to fight the organised crime gangs that are often responsible for driving shop theft across the country. Our £5m investment into OPAL (a specialist policing unit) will supercharge intelligence-led policing to identify offenders, disrupt the tactics used to target shops, and bring more criminals to justice.Building from the Winter of Action, we are working with forces and local partners to identify and tackle the most prolific retail offenders - where a few individuals can drive a large proportion of the local crime problem.We are already seeing a difference. Whilst it is unacceptable that shop theft offences continue to trend upward, this is at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years. The number of charges for shop theft have increased at a greater rate over the same period [up to 111,559 charges or 21%]. This increase in the charge rate from 17.9% to 20.1% shows police are taking these crimes seriously.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that rural shops have (a) reliable broadband and (b) reliable mobile connectivity.

The government is continuing to work in partnership with industry to rollout gigabit coverage and maintain a stable pro‑competition regulatory environment that encourages private investment.This is complemented by Project Gigabit, where we are delivering gigabit-capable connections to premises not included in suppliers’ commercial delivery plans. As of the end of December 2025, over 1.3 million homes and businesses in rural areas across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.More than one million further premises, which includes rural shops, have been included in over £2.4 billion worth of Project Gigabit contracts. This includes approximately 910 homes and businesses in Newbury constituency.In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report 2025 it was reported that the Newbury constituency has almost 100% geographic 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator, and 96% coverage from all operators. Businesses should have access to the high-quality connectivity that allows them to thrive, and it is the government’s ambition that all populated areas should have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. Each of the network operators have set out delivery and investment plans that align with this government’s ambition.

What steps her Department is taking to raise public awareness of vehicle write-off categories.

The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.

Whether she plans to review existing guidance on the categorisation and repair of written-off vehicles, in the context of advancing vehicle technologies, including electric and hybrid vehicles.

The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of skills shortages in the vehicle repair and salvage sector on (a) road safety, (b) insurance costs and (c) repair times, in the context of increasing vehicle complexity.

In October 2024, we formed the motor insurance taskforce, which worked across government, bringing together departments and independent regulators to understand the complexities of the market and to agree a set of actions to help stabilise and reduce premiums. The final taskforce report was published on 10 December 2025. Member departments included the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Education, who as part of the taskforce, are acting to address the broader factors that contribute to the cost of claims. This includes transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy. For example, government is providing £182m over the next 3 years to develop engineering skills to allow the development of short courses specially targeted at engineering skills to support the advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital sectors. It will also fund the rollout of 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges (TEC), including four in Advanced Manufacturing and related sectors. There has also been an increase in vehicle technicians, mechanics and electrician apprenticeships with nearly 13,000 completed in the last 5 reported years and 4,000 of these in the latest year, 2024/25. The number of EV-trained technicians is also increasing through industry-led measures such as upskilling and continuous professional development.

What considerations her Department has given to placing the ABI Salvage Code of Practice on a statutory footing.

The Government has no plans to promote awareness of vehicle write-off categories or to make the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motor Vehicle Salvage (‘Code of Practice’) statutory. This is because the code is owned and was established by the motor insurance industry through the ABI, as part of their efforts to improve road safety by ensuring that unsafe vehicles do not end up back on the roads.There is already guidance titled ‘Scrapping your vehicle and insurance write-offs’ which can be found at gov.uk, this includes information on vehicle write-off categories and how and when to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.The Government also has no plans to review existing guidance with regards to electric and hybrid vehicles. The latest version of the ‘Code of Practice’, published in May 2025, includes guidance on ‘High Voltage (HV) Battery Electric Vehicles (Over 60 Volts)’.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that youth and enrichment initiatives across government are aligned to (a) maximise impact, (b) avoid duplication and (c) better join-up in school and out-of-schools offers.

The Government's National Youth Strategy is a 10-year plan designed to ensure that every young person nationwide has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them, and a community they feel a part of. Halving the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers is one of the clear ambitions of this cross-government strategy.As part of our commitment to this ambition, DCMS, in partnership with DfE, will invest £22.5 million over 3 years to enable up to 400 schools in areas of greatest need across England to deliver a youth-voice led, tailored enrichment offer. This funding will help schools meet the Enrichment Framework benchmarks and improve join-up between in-school and out-of-school enrichment offers.The programme will work in tandem with other initiatives, including the Richer Young Lives fund, which will invest over £60 million across the next three years to enable organisations to deliver high-quality youth work and activities, and the £132.5 million ‘Every Child Can’ programme, which will increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the culture, sport, and wider youth sectors.We are also working closely with the Department for Education to ensure wider government programmes - including the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, National Centre for Arts and Music Education, and Music Hubs - complement the programme and avoid duplication.

What steps his Department is taking to support apprenticeship programmes and technical training in the vehicle repair and salvage sector, in the context of the skills gap in the industry.

Several apprenticeships, including Level 2 Autocare Technician, Level 3 Accident Repair technician and Level 4 Vehicle Damage Assessor, are available to support employers and learners in the vehicle repair and salvage sector to develop the skills they need. To support apprenticeship opportunities in all sectors, this government is 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 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. For 16-19-year-olds, the T Level in Engineering and Manufacturing for Maintenance, Installation and Repair includes a specialism in service maintenance and repair activities for light and electric vehicles, helping to equip students with the skills needed for these in-demand sectors. We have recently closed the consultation seeking views on our proposals on the Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways. We will be publishing the government’s response to the consultation in due course, which will set out our plans for V Levels, T Levels and qualifications at Level 2.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of workforce planning and recruitment practices at AWE in recent years.

I am taking a keen interest in the negotiations and continue to urge dialogue, meaningful consultation and a constructive resolution between AWE and Prospect.The Ministry of Defence keeps AWE’s processes under regular review to support the delivery of crucial defence outputs, both now and in the future.

What information his Department holds on the progress of consultations between AWE and Prospect.

I am taking a keen interest in the negotiations and continue to urge dialogue, meaningful consultation and a constructive resolution between AWE and Prospect.The Ministry of Defence keeps AWE’s processes under regular review to support the delivery of crucial defence outputs, both now and in the future.