Written questions by Cocking.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 15845 on Small Businesses: Recruitment, when he plans to publish the small business strategy.

The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year. This will set out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, across key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment. The paper will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy and Trade Strategy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 12 December 2024, Official Report, HCWS308, whether local authorities with existing Local Plans produced under the previous standard method will now be required to update their Local Plans (a) as a consequence of the new housing need requirements and (b) in order to deliver the extra year’s worth of homes in their five year housing pipeline.

Having an effective up-to-date plan in place is essential to planning for, and meeting, development needs. Whether a local authority is required to update their Local Plan as a consequence of the new housing need requirement will depend on the stage a draft plan has reached. This is set out in Annex 1 of the NPPF, particularly paragraphs 234-237. Authorities that do not have an emerging plan at an advanced stage will need to use the revised NPPF and new housing requirement when preparing their next plan. The 5-year housing land supply policy is a crucial mechanism in the planning system that ensures local authorities maintain a pipeline of sites for housing. The requirement introduced in para 78 c) in the NPPF means some LPAs will have to add a 20% buffer to their five-year housing land supply requirement. It does not necessitate LPAs producing a plan update.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to Q53 of the evidence given by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee on 20 November 2024, HC432, at what (a) geographical and (b) administrative level regional strategic plans will operate.

Detail about the government’s proposed approach to strategic planning can be found in the English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department’s Planning Newsletter issued to local authorities on 13 December 2024, what steps local planning authorities will need to take as part of the requirement to update their Local Development Scheme within 12 weeks of the publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework; and whether this will require amendments to an existing Local Plan.

Local Planning Authorities have a statutory obligation to produce a Local Development Scheme and to keep it up-to-date and publicly available. As the Secretary of State set out in her letter of 12 December 2024, we are asking all Local Planning Authorities to review and update their Local Development Scheme in light of the revised National Planning Policy Framework and transitional arrangements by no later than 6 March 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to apply for lane rental schemes.

The Department is in the process of updating its lane rental guidance and has recently announced a new assessment process for lane rental applications to improve and streamline the application process for authorities. We have been speaking to authorities directly as part of a series of regional visits and are also working with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC) to develop their guidance for local authorities who are considering applying for a scheme.

What steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of the Street Manager service.

The Street Manager service is closely managed by the Department, with officials also overseeing ongoing development and improvement of the service in line with Government Digital Services best practice. There is a governance group made up of elected representatives from the public and private sector whom officials meet monthly, and a small group of subject matter experts are consulted on a weekly basis. A roadmap setting out future enhancements of the service is agreed with the governance group and published every six months. Users can provide feedback and raise any concerns they have about the service at any point, and a yearly survey monitors satisfaction.

How many train collisions with people have been reported in each train operating company's network area in the last 12 months; and how many people were involved in such collisions in each area.

The number of people struck by trains in the last 12 months within each of Network Rail’s regions and routes is set out below. This data shows whether the incident led to a fatality or injury, and if it was classified as a suspected suicide or as non-suicidal. The total number of people struck by trains over this period was 339. NR RegionFatalitiesInjuriesSuicidalNon-suicidalSuicidalNon-suicidalEastern981119North West and Central633118Scotland's Railway16021Southern47136Wales and Western50216 NR RouteFatalitiesInjuriesSuicidalNon-suicidalSuicidalNon-suicidalAnglia29141East Coast20024East Midlands18034North & East31020Central18052North West35355West Coast Mainline South10011Scotland's Railway16021Kent12013Sussex16021Wessex19102Wales and Borders11112Western39104

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure customers are compensated when water companies fail to meet Ofwat targets.

Under new proposals set out by this Government, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are hit in a wider range of circumstances – with payments water company customers are legally entitled to when key standards are not met at least doubling. The Government is also expanding the list of circumstances that can trigger compensation, to include payments for boil notices when drinking water standards drop, and for failures to conduct meter readings or installations as promised. It would mean recent outages in Hastings, Brixham and Bramley earlier this year would have all automatically led to compensation at higher rates for all customers.

Whether it is her Department's policy to support the Crossrail 2 project.

Crossrail 2 has not received government funding since 2020 when the scheme was paused. The Department for Transport will be considering its future investment priorities as part of the current Spending Review.

How many people were hit by a train across the railway network in the last 12 months; and what steps she taking to prevent such incidents.

According to British Transport Police (BTP) data, from November 2023 to October 2024, 358 people have been struck by a train on the railway; of these, sadly 304 people lost their lives. Of the 304 who died, 297 of those are suspected to have taken their own life by suicide, and 6 died in rail accidents (with one classification pending). The Department is committed to working with the rail industry to reduce the number of deaths by suicide. Each rail operator is responsible for delivering a suicide prevention plan and maintaining accreditation to the independently assessed Safeguarding on Rail Scheme. Their plan must include training of public-facing staff in suicide prevention, putting in place mitigation measures at stations and promoting avenues of help for vulnerable people at risk of suicide or self-harm. The rail industry works together, using campaigns and education, physical barriers, training staff and working with charities to prevent these incidents.BTP works in collaboration with its partners to ensure all incidents are managed swiftly and people are treated with dignity. Network Rail has a long-standing relationship with The Samaritans and funds the ‘Small Talk Saves Lives’ campaign. Since launching in 2017, the campaign has successfully raised awareness within railway stations and other public settings about the need to trust your instincts and start a simple conversation if you think someone might need help.

What steps he is taking to support small businesses to recruit new employees.

Our forthcoming Small Business Strategy will reaffirm our long-term support for small businesses and outline our vision for boosting scale-ups and helping all types of business to thrive and grow. This strategy will empower business owners and entrepreneurs to innovate, export, and create jobs across their regions. In addition, as confirmed in the autumn Budget the Government has taken steps to protect small businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This measure will help small businesses in particular - in 2024 small businesses (with 0-49 employees) make up 99.2% of the total business population.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Hertfordshire County Council on local government reorganisation.

There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Broxbourne Council on local government reorganisation.

There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with East Herts Council on local government reorganisation.

There have been no specific discussions on local government reorganisation between the Department and Hertfordshire County Council, Broxbourne Council, or East Herts Council. The Department is always open to hearing from councils about government in their local area.The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out more detail on the government’s reorganisation plans, including working with councils to move to simpler structures that make sense for their local areas, with efficiency savings from council reorganisation helping to meet the needs of local people.

What steps his Department is taking to make it easier for patients in Broxbourne constituency to contact their GP practice to book appointments.

We know patients are struggling to contact their general practices (GP), including in the Broxbourne constituency. That is why we have committed to eliminating the 8:00am scramble for appointments by implementing a modern appointment booking system.The most recent data from the Health Insight Survey found that between July and August 2024, 78% of people had successfully contacted their GP on the same day, in the last 28 days. Of those who tried to contact their GP practice in the last 28 days, 72.6% of adults perceived their overall experience of their GP practice as either ‘Very Good’ or ‘Good’.99.4% of the primary care estate are now live with digital telephony and 90% have been enrolled to use online registration systems.We are determined to reduce bureaucracy, which is why the Government has launched a red tape challenge, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients.

Whether his Department plans to introduce mandatory dementia training for adult social care workers.

Providers must provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.We now have a national career framework for adult social car, the Care Workforce Pathway, which is linked to a number of existing competency frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework.The Department has also launched a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which links to the outcomes in the Care Workforce Pathway. This contains the baseline knowledge required to provide quality care, and will make sure that those who are starting out their careers have an informed awareness of dementia.

What steps her Department plans to take to support the establishment of Banking Hubs in town centres that no longer have any bank branches.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas.The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. LINK considers certain criteria, such as whether another bank branch remains nearby, the local population, the number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community. An assessment of a community’s cash access needs can be requested on LINK’s website.An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

What steps she plans to take to help tackle congestion on roads.

This Government is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network so it can serve all road users, is safe, and tackles congestion. Traffic management on local roads is the responsibility of local traffic authorities who are best placed to understand local needs. Local traffic authorities are subject to the statutory network management duty which requires them to manage their roads to secure the ‘expeditious movement’ of all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion, and they have a wide range of tools already available to them to enable this.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving the responsibility for the allocation of GP surgeries to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

There are currently no plans for assessing whether the responsibility of the allocation of general practice surgeries should fall to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Upper-tier local authorities currently have a role in improving health and influencing health and care strategies through participation in integrated care partnerships (ICPs) and integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are National Health Service organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population, including Primary Medical Services. ICBs are legally required to have local government representation on their board. Each integrated care system (ICS) includes an ICP, formed of NHS organisations and upper-tier local authorities, which is responsible for developing an integrated care strategy. The ICB works to deliver this through developing a joint plan with partner local authorities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area.The healthcare needs of local populations affect the funding which practices receive. Global sum payments for general practice contractors are based on a weighted sum for every person registered with the practice, using the Carr-Hill formula to estimate the practices’ workload.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce a referendum cap for council tax increases for the next financial year.

The Government is committed to keeping taxes on working people as low as possible. Decisions on future local authority funding will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement in which we are engaged.