Written questions by Jarvis.

What steps he is taking to monitor the success of the NHS scheme to identify breast cancer risk by testing for the BRCA gene.

The NHS Genomic Medicine Service provides a national genomics unit which is responsible for strategic oversight, direction, commissioning and funding, and performance monitoring of genomics service.The National Health Service is ensuring that people have access to tests that can help them to understand any inherited risks to their health. This includes the offer of ‘catch up’ BRCA testing for people who are eligible, but who have no record of having received a genetic test to date and other initiatives, such as our NHS Jewish BRCA Testing Programme. This initiative has identified 551 BRCA carriers to date, of which 279 are eligible and have been referred into the Very High-Risk Breast Screening Programme for regular screening, demonstrating the potential for this initiative to identify cancer earlier.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the clarity of guidance available to individuals applying for non-disclosure of address orders in insolvency cases.

The Insolvency Service has published guidance on the government website www.gov.uk to explain how an individual can apply for a Person at Risk of Violence order (PARV order) to prevent their address being disclosed in insolvency cases. The guidance relates to bankruptcy applications. The only amendment currently being made to this guidance removes references to a fee being payable to the court when a PARV order application is made.

What steps he is taking to monitor the level of administrative charges by Royal Mail applied to unstamped mail.

Royal Mail is an independent business. The government does not have a role in its operational decisions. The operation and administration of Royal Mail’s products and services, including stamps and associated surcharges, is a matter for the business. This includes the authority to apply administrative charges to unstamped mail.

What steps he is taking to monitor the quality of paid services offering assistance with Attendance Allowance applications.

Free help, support and advice on claiming Attendance Allowance is widely available, including on GOV.UK, from DWP, and organisations such as Age UK. There is no need for claimants to pay for advice and support with benefit applications.

Food and Rural Affairs, in addition to banning trophy hunting imports, what further plans she has to prevent British firms from selling hunting holidays.

The Government is committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, which is the most effective approach the Government can take on this matter. The department continues to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can implement a robust ban. Timeframes for introducing legislation will be provided once the Parliamentary timetable for future sessions is determined.

What steps she is taking to improve (a) universal, (b) targeted and (c) specialist speech, language and communication support for children in schools.

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools. We are also continuing to grow the pipeline. In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

What steps he is taking to increase support for voluntary and charitable organisations providing dementia support services in Hampshire.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), and may include services provided by voluntary or charitable organisations. We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for frailty and dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia and will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

What assessment her department has made of the potential impact of the removal of business rates relief and the business rates revaluation on high street businesses.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Whether his Department has plans to review documentation made public following the expiry of the 20-year confidentiality period relating to gurkha pensions and their alignment to British military standards.

This Government holds the Gurkhas in the utmost esteem and greatly values their exceptional and lasting contribution to the United Kingdom. Their courage, loyalty, and commitment have been an integral part of the British Armed Forces for more than 200 years. The Government remains dedicated to honouring their service and ensuring they are treated with fairness and respect. Defence has no current plans to review documentation made public following the expiry of the 20-year confidentiality period relating to Gurkha pensions and their alignment to British military standards. Defence considers the Gurkha Pension Scheme (GPS) to be a fair scheme, tailored to the historical circumstances during which it was open. The terms of the GPS have been challenged in a number of judicial reviews, including a case which went to the European Court of Human Rights and, at all levels, the courts have upheld the Government’s position that the scheme is lawful. Gurkha service in the British Armed Forces was established under the 1947 Tripartite Agreement between Nepal, the UK, and India. The 1948 GPS was designed to support veterans retiring to Nepal, where their families lived. The Brigade of Gurkhas has been based in the United Kingdom since July 1997 and terms and conditions changed over time to reflect this new reality: Since 2006, Gurkhas have served on the same terms and conditions of service as the rest of the British Army, with certain provisions preserving the Brigade’s unique identity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of compelling online trade directories to require tradespeople to verify and display waste carrier licences.

We recently announced plans to tighten up the regulation of those who transport and manage waste services, moving them from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will give the Environment Agency a greater range of powers and more resources to be able to take action against those operating illegally. We will announce our further plans in due course.

What steps he is taking to ensure ICBs offer routine podiatry surgeries.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local populations, including podiatry and related surgical interventions where clinically appropriate. NHS England has issued guidance to ICBs to ensure equitable access to community and specialist services.We recognise the importance of community health services (CHS) to the health and care system. The Medium-Term Planning Framework – delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29, published October 2025, sets clear targets for reducing waiting times for CHS.

What steps he is taking to ensure the forthcoming HIV Action Plan will strengthen awareness of HIV risk among women.

The new HIV Action Plan, published on World AIDS Day on 1 December 2025, sets out how the Government will enable every level of the healthcare system to work together to engage everyone in prevention, testing, and treatment, tackle stigma, and reach our ambition to end new HIV transmissions by 2030. This includes a focus on women, as we know from the UK Health Security Agency’s latest data that they are not benefitting equally from the progress made on HIV in recent years.Women will benefit from all of the actions in the HIV Action Plan, including improved testing and prevention services, rapid treatment, and support for those living with HIV. We will commission a new national HIV Prevention England programme backed by a total of £4.8 million of funding from April 2026 to March 2029. This programme supports communities disproportionately affected by HIV, including women, in particular black African and heterosexual women. The current programme delivers National HIV Testing Week, aimed at improving testing and increasing awareness of HIV prevention. In Testing Week 2025, heterosexual women accounted for 30% of all testers compared with 25% in 2024. We will also fund formula milk, and related sterilising equipment, for the infants of women living with HIV, thereby removing financial pressures and reducing the risk of transmission to babies.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for Child Maintenance Service appeals that proceed to a Tribunal.

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.Appeals against Child Maintenance Service decisions are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is part of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of additional Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of new, modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology where appropriate. If an expedited hearing is requested, a Judge or Legal Officer will consider this, taking all the circumstances into account.We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance of the Tribunal in Child Maintenance Service appeals, and the Social Entitlement Chamber more broadly.

Pursuant to parliamentary question 78887 answered on 20 October, whether freight traction decarbonisation is within the scope of its long-term infrastructure and rolling stock strategy.

The main focus of the strategy will be on the future needs for passenger rolling stock, and for associated changes to the railway infrastructure. However, within the strategy, the approach to decarbonisation will also need to take account of the needs of freight users.

What discussions has he had with organisations that deliver supported accommodation on work for young people living in supported housing.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for working age customers (including young people) living in supported and temporary accommodation. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment. It remains our priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter and sustain employment.

What steps he is taking to improve access to dental care for people with a cleft.

We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdfRegarding access to general primary care National Health Service dentistry, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for complaints submitted to the Housing Ombudsman to be (a) processed and (b) resolved.

The Housing Ombudsman is independent of government.As its Sponsor Department, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government tracks its progress on delivery in line with Cabinet Office Standards for working in partnership.The Housing Ombudsman’s Corporate Strategy for 2025-30 sets stretching KPIs (agreed by the Secretary of State) aimed at further reducing casework timescales.Complaints and enquiries received by the Ombudsman have increased from 32,126 in 2022-23 to 40,945 in 2023-24. The organisation has grown from an average full time equivalent staff (FTE) of 187 in 2022-23 to 340 FTE in 2023-24. There was a 107% increase in the number of determinations made by the Ombudsman in 2024-24.The Corporate Strategy sets out how the Ombudsman will continue to meet this demand by further expanding the workforce and continuing to explore new approaches to case investigations.Work to reduce the number of complaints needing to reach the Service is also ongoing and includes the Ombudsman sharing best practice to help landlords improve their complaint handling. A transformation programme launched at the start of 2025-26 also aims to drive further efficiencies from processes and systems.

When her Department expects all eligible retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to receive their McCloud remedy payments; and what steps she is taking to expedite payments to retired teachers impacted by the McCloud pension remedy.

Capita, as administrator of the teachers’ pension scheme, is processing Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) for retired members affected by the McCloud remedy as quickly as possible. As of 15 October 2025, 69,798 RSSs have been issued to retired members.Payments are made as soon as possible following the return of completed RSSs. To speed up delivery, the department is working with Capita to increase staffing, automate processes, improve IT systems, and prioritise complex cases. Members will continue receiving their original pension until remedy choices are implemented, and any backdated payments will include interest to ensure no financial disadvantage.This is a high priority for the department and we are committed to resolving this with Capita and ensuring retired members receive their RSSs as quickly as possible.

What steps her Department is taking to increase access to Bikeability cycle training for children.

The Department for Transport announced in February an additional £30 million to support the delivery of Bikeability cycle training to children across England in 2025/26. This includes funding to ensure sessions are accessible to people with additional needs, such as households without cycles or basic cycle training to prepare children for Bikeability training. In 2024/25 the Bikeability programme provided access to over 4,700 new cycles, supporting the delivery of 500,000 training places, which equated to almost 3 million hours of cycling for children. In 2024/25, approximately 10% of children trained were children with special educational needs and disabilities, which has increased from 8% in 2023/24.

What assessment his Department has made of the challenges faced by not-for-profit care homes.

The Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in tackling any challenges they face. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have the duty to shape their care market and commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes building close working relationships with care providers to achieve a sustainable balance of quality, effectiveness, and value for money.