Written questions by Jarvis.

Whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of the recommendations in the Nuclear Regulatory Review, including proposals to amend the Habitats Regulations on the environment.

At Budget the Chancellor confirmed that government endorses the report’s approach and accepts the principles of all recommendations it set out. We will present a full implementation plan by the end of February 2026, taking account of our international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes. We will undertake the appropriate impact assessments at the relevant stages of any proposed changes.

What progress his Department has made on assessing the beer market to determine potential structural barriers preventing small brewers from accessing pubs.

The Government recognises that independent breweries are essential to the diversity and character of our pubs. We have conducted a review of the beer market to determine whether there are any structural barriers preventing small breweries, the findings from which are currently being considered by ministers. We’ve introduced a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities, such as supporting initiatives like investing £440,000 to help rural pubs diversify as community hubs, delivered with Pub is The Hub to unlock over 40 stalled projects. We also maintain regular engagement with trade bodies such as Society of Independent Brewers, as well as colleagues across government, to ensure that policy decisions are informed by the latest evidence and genuinely support the sector’s long-term stability.

What correspondence he has received from the WASPI Campaign since 1 September 2025.

The Department for Work and Pensions receive a very large volume of correspondence on a range of issues including the PHSO’s investigation into the communication of State Pension age rises. We attach great importance to providing prompt and accurate replies.

What estimate she has made of the number of Child Benefit claims that were suspended by HM Revenue and Customs on the basis of suspected emigration and were subsequently found to be compliant; what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the decision to suspend payments before completing PAYE cross-checks; what steps she is taking to ensure that Child Benefit compliance activity is based on complete and accurate data; and what steps she is taking to ensure prompt reinstatement and appropriate redress for families whose Child Benefit was wrongly suspended.

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC has taken and its approach to redress. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025. For the number of Child Benefit claims I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to Question 104272 on 14 January 2026.Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Eastleigh constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of current driver education on equestrian safety; and if she will make it her policy to make equestrian safety a (a) mandatory and (b) assessable component of the (i) Driving Theory Test and (ii) Hazard Perception Test.

In 2022, the Highway Code was updated to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which places greater responsibility on those who can cause the most harm, and strengthened guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders.THINK! ran targeted campaigns to alert road users to these changes and broader behavioural campaigns to encourage understanding and compliance.The Government’s THINK! road safety campaign is currently running a Sharing the Road Safely radio advert. The advert promotes safe driving speeds and passing distances, reminding drivers to leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists, and to slow down to under 10mph and leave at least two metres when passing horse riders. The advert runs via the Fillers service, which enables broadcasters to air public service messages at no cost.We will continue to encourage safer road user behaviours, including to improve safety for horse riders, via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.The Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVSA) driver theory test already contains questions relating to equestrian safety, and has done for many years.DVSA has recognised the need to promote the recognition of hazards by drivers when sharing the road with horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. These are well represented within the hazard perception part of the test, a CGI video test which requires candidates to identify developing hazards on the road in good time.Both the multiple choice and hazard perception parts of the theory test are continually being updated and added to, with one of the focuses being on vulnerable road users such as horse riders.

What steps she is taking to ensure standardised training for police in reviewing Operation Snap submissions involving horses; and what assessment she has made of the consistency with which police forces handle video evidence of dangerous passes involving horses.

The Government takes road safety extremely seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.Police enforcements of motoring offences are operational matters for Chief Officers, who decide how to deploy available resources to deal with all the issues for which the force is responsible, taking into account specific local problems and demands.The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) released national guidance on the minimum standards for police handling of dashcam footage submitted by members of the public in June 2021.The guidance makes clear that trained police staff should assess camera footage submitted under Operation Snap and if the footage demonstrates an offence is committed, the local force determine the appropriate action to take.

What steps she is taking to help reduce risks of suicide, self-harm and depression among care-experienced young people; and what plans she has to ensure continuity of mental health and wellbeing support for care-experienced young people beyond the age of 18.

The department is committed to reviewing the shockingly high number of early deaths amongst care-experienced young people. As I stated in the House of Commons, at the beginning of the first ever National Care Leavers Month in November 2025, suicide and early death are, tragically, part of the care experience for too many. To start to solve a problem, we must first confront it.As we progress this review, we will carefully consider how to improve the support that care leavers receive across a range of aspects of their lives, including mental and physical health, housing, education, employment and training, and relationships.We are already taking action through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including placing a new duty on local authorities to provide Staying Close support to care leavers up to the age of 25, to help care leavers find and keep suitable accommodation and to access services relating to health and wellbeing, relationships, education, training and employment.In addition, we are reviewing guidance on ‘Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children’ and extending it to cover care leavers up to age 25.In December 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and I announced that, in a boost for mental health support, the government will trial a 3-year pilot to make sure children in care have access to the support they need sooner. This will build on existing work across the country, bringing together social workers and NHS health professionals to work together to provide direct mental health support to children and families when they need it most.

Whether her Department plans to publish a timeline for improvements in the identification of young carers in the school census; and whether she plans to take further steps to support accurate reporting of young carers.

Information on young carers was first collected through the school census in spring 2023. Since then, we have seen year-on-year improvements in the identification of pupils who are young carers. The department continues to work closely with schools and their representatives to refine and strengthen the guidance provided and for the 2026 spring school census, we have introduced changes to data validation processes to support more accurate and complete reporting of this information.The latest information about the number of pupils identified as a young carer is published in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ statistical release, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2025.

What progress his Department has made on achieving the Access and Waiting Time Standard for children and young people with an Eating Disorder.

The number of children and young people starting treatment for eating disorders has increased since the pandemic, rising from 8,034 in 2019/20 to 11,174 in 2024/25, an increase of almost 40%. This increase in demand has affected performance against the Access and Waiting Time standard, which states that 95% of routine referrals should begin treatment within four weeks and 95% of urgent referrals should begin treatment within one week.In the rolling quarter from September to November 2025, the Mental Health Services Data Set shows improved performance against the standard. During this period, 78.4% of, or 384 out of 490, urgent referrals and 81.7% of, or 2,145 out of 2,625, routine referrals started treatment within one and four weeks respectively.To support systems to meet the Access and Waiting Time Standard, NHS England has published updated guidance on children and young people's eating disorders. The new guidance focuses on whole pathway approaches to early intervention, whilst ensuring swift access to specialist support as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 98528 on Schools: Speech and Language Therapy, what progress her Department has made in extending the Early Language Support for Every Child programme; and how her Department is assessing the programme's impact on early identification and support for children with speech, language and communication needs.

In partnership with NHS England, the department has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme for the 2025/26 academic year, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools. The interim independent programme evaluation, due to be published this month, will assess the programme’s impact and allow the department to explore insights into the effectiveness of ELSEC delivery at a local level.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of making play-based learning and continuous provision statutory in England's Key Stage 1 Curriculum.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review considered the extent to which the curriculum and the assessment system in England is fit for purpose and meeting the needs of children and young people. The government’s response set out key reforms to the national curriculum that we will be taking forward. The purpose of the national curriculum is to outline what must be taught in schools rather than how.There are no plans to legislate to make play and continuous provision statutory in the key stage 1 curriculum. However, we will continue to back educators to apply their professional judgment and creativity to meet the needs of their pupils, meaning children will be able to benefit from play-based learning throughout their primary education where appropriate.

Whether she will consider establishing an Independent Commissioner to assess the claims of Equitable Life policyholders, the allocation of compensation, and the methodology used to distribute it.

The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 under the approach put in place by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition government. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the National Fire Chiefs Council on the adequacy of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-2027 to 2028-2029 funding formula for fire and rescue services.

The Government recognises that the current fire funding formula was designed over a decade ago. In line with responses to the principles of reform consultation in December 2024, the Government updated the fire and rescue relative needs formula by using the most up-to-date data available. In the medium term, we will work with the fire sector on a comprehensive review of the formula ahead of the next Spending Review.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of mobility associated with armed forces service on the educational continuity of the children of service personnel with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is aware of the potential impact of Service related mobility on children with additional needs from Armed Forces families. December 2025 saw the publication of MOD commissioned research carried out by Oxford Brookes University entitled ‘Supporting ALL to Thrive’ (See link: https://sattproject.org.uk/|). This project investigated the educational opportunities, experiences and outcomes of children with additional learning or support needs and/or disabilities from UK Armed Forces families. The Oxford Brookes research team have presented their findings to the Department for Education and continue to work with the MOD in developing an evidence base that can help shape future policy development.

What estimate he has made of GP-to-patient ratios in Eastleigh constituency.

As of 30 November 2025, the median number of full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients was 5.9 in the Eastleigh constituency. The England median was 5.6 FTE.

What steps her Department is taking to enhance the accessibility of reporting mechanisms for fraud and cyber crime.

A new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cyber crime called Report Fraud went live on 4 December 2025, replacing the previous Action Fraud service. The new service will ensure that victims of fraud have the confidence and trust to come forward, report instances of fraud, and know that their case will be dealt with properly.Report Fraud will speed up the time it takes to report, inform victims about what has happened or is happening with their report and significantly improve the speed and quality of information provided to law enforcement partners, boosting their chances of successful prosecutions.

What steps she is taking to help ensure continuity of (a) assessments and (b) support across local authorities for children of service personnel with special educational needs and disabilities when families relocate.

All those with statutory responsibilities towards children of service personnel with special education needs and disability (SEND), should ensure that the impact of their policies, administrative processes and patterns of provision do not disadvantage such children when families relocate.Statutory guidance is clear that when a child moves home across local authority boundaries, the education, health and care plan must be transferred from the ‘old’ local authority to the ‘new’ local authority on the day of the move or within 15 working days from when the old local authority first becomes aware of the move. Upon receiving the plan, the new local authority must arrange the special educational provision set out in it, although a child may have to be placed in a school other than the one named on the plan if the distance of the move makes it impractical to send the child to the named school.

What action her Department is taking to help increase awareness of changes to the Highway Code introduced in 2022.

Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities give due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Local authorities are bound by the Armed Forces Covenant when they discharge their housing and homelessness duties, and independent Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers support service personnel and their families to register and to vote. There is statutory guidance for local authorities which takes account of the special circumstances of those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces and their families when discharging homelessness duties which can be found here, and when allocating accommodation, which can be found here.