Written questions by Jarvis.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her US counterpart on the proposed UK ban of trophy hunting imports.

Baroness Hayman met with a United States Government representative in July 2025 to discuss the UK Government’s proposed ban on imports of hunting trophies. The Government committed to a ban on the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and will deliver on this. The department engages constructively with a range of stakeholders, including other Governments, to understand different perspectives and ensure that we can implement a robust ban.

What information her Department holds on the number of children who are on the waiting list for an education, health and care plan in Hampshire; and how many and what proportion of those children have been waiting for longer than 20 weeks.

The department does not hold information on the number of children waiting for an education, health and care (EHC) plan.Information is published on the number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out, and the number of plans issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe.The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment which were outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year in (a) Hampshire and (b) England for the 2024 calendar year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/89c84169-a197-4566-46d1-08de5e4c4d7c.The number of EHC needs assessments which were outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year in (a) Hampshire and (b) England for the 2024 calendar year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/dde79d11-557c-46c3-46d2-08de5e4c4d7c.The number of EHC plans issued within 20 weeks of the date of the request in (a) Hampshire and (b) England for the 2024 calendar year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a55a3b97-fe37-47a3-70d2-08de5e4c1b9a.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle homelessness in Eastleigh constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 99477 on 19 December 2025.

Whether he plans to implement he recommendations of the Independent Review of Carer’s Allowance Overpayments.

I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 25 November HCWS1092 and (at Col 22WS) Carer's Allowance Overpayments Review - Hansard - UK Parliament where I outlined the department’s response to Liz Sayce’s Independent Review. The Government has welcomed the report and is accepting or partially accepting 38 out of the 40 recommendations. In some cases, the changes the report is asking for have already been made. Others will take more time to put in place.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in Eastleigh constituency.

The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads which is why it has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government’s investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year. The Eastleigh constituency’s local highway authority is Hampshire, who will be eligible to receive over £266 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years.Furthermore, the Department published a new traffic light rating system on 11 January. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. The Department has also published an interactive map which means residents can see how their authority is performing and allow the Government to target support to those who need extra help. Hampshire received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing green for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.

With reference to her Department's document entitled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: statement and accompanying consultation on earned settlement, updated on 28 November 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a retrospective application of the proposed changes to settlement rules on people currently on a five-year settlement pathway, including on lower income households and groups with protected characteristics.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to help ensure access to medical supplies in Gaza.

I refer the Hon Member to: (a) the statement I made to the House on the Middle East on 5 January, and (b) the joint statement on humanitarian access issued by the Foreign Secretary and nine of her international counterparts on 30 December 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to face-to-face appointments for people with Parkinson’s in Hampshire.

Local integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their populations and for commissioning services that meet those needs, including decisions on the balance between in‑person and remote appointments across primary, community, and hospital care. This includes ensuring that people who need or prefer a face‑to‑face appointment are able to access one, while continuing to develop more flexible and efficient models of care for those who are happy to engage digitally or remotely.For people with Parkinson’s, multidisciplinary care, including in‑person assessment and review, remains an important part of disease management, and local services in Hampshire are expected to organise appointments in line with national clinical standards and local capacity planning. ICBs are required to keep access under regular review to ensure people can be seen face‑to‑face when this is clinically required, including through specialist neurology clinics, Parkinson’s nurse services, and community‑based support.NHS England continues to work with local systems, including in Hampshire, to improve outpatient access, reduce waiting times, and ensure equitable provision of face‑to‑face care for people with Parkinson’s across all regions.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that patients with secondary breast cancer have a clinical nurse specialist allocated to them.

In 2024/25, approximately 8,000 people received training to either enter the cancer and diagnostics workforce or to develop in their roles. As part of this, over 1,600 people were on apprenticeship courses, with over 270 additional medical specialty training places funded. Over 1,000 clinical nurse specialist grants were made available to new and aspiring clinical nurse specialists.NHS England is also investing in structured career development and education support. The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme provides a nationally agreed framework for capability, career development, and education for nurses, allied health professionals, and the support workforce working in cancer care. This is also beneficial for the training and development of clinical nurse specialists working in breast cancer care.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a new national agency for SEND to help address variation in provision.

As part of our Plan for Change, the department is determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore the trust of parents. We will do this by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate.We will publish further details about plans for SEND reform in a Schools White Paper shortly. Our reforms will be underpinned by five principles: ‘early’, ‘local’, ‘fair’, ‘effective’ and ‘shared’.To support the reforms, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice and help address variation in provision.For example, recently published evidence reviews from University College London highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective strategies to identify and support children with different types of needs.The department also funds a What Works in SEND programme. Their research and effective practice models are included at: https://whatworks-send.org.uk/.New research delivered by UK Research Innovation will also aim to develop effective approaches to early identification of children needing tailored educational support.

What steps he is Taking with the Secretary of State for Education, to provide mental health and wellbeing support to young carers in Eastleigh constituency.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including children and young people’s mental health services. As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need. We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating. An additional 900,000 children and young people will have access by this spring, and this means that 60% of all pupils will have access to this early support at school, up from 44% in Spring 2024. More widely, we are, rolling out Young Futures Hubs. The Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health. Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App. NHS England is supporting the identification of young carers and has recently published guidance for general practitioners. NHS England is also utilising data to help support greater join-up between health, education, and social care.

If she will review the three-year freeze on the salary threshold for student loan repayments announced in the 2025 Budget.

The income threshold above which repayments are required for Plan 2 loans will remain at its 2026/27 financial year level of £29,385 up to April 2030, and will increase annually with the Retail Price Index thereafter. This change will help to ensure the system remains sustainable in the long term and is able to continue benefitting future generations of students.Borrowers remain protected as repayments are determined by income, not the amount borrowed. If a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Lower-earning graduates will continue to be protected, with any outstanding loan and interest written off at the end of the loan term.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of neighbourhood police officers in Eastleigh.

Every community deserves visible, pro-active and accessible neighbourhood policing with officers tackling the issues that matter to them. That is why £200 million has been made available in 2025/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of this Parliament. Of the £200 million available, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary were allocated £5,187,776 with a projected growth of 65 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025/26.Published management information shows as at 30 September 2025, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary have grown by 99 FTE neighbourhood policing officers since March 2025. It is important that forces continue to boost visible policing and ensure the workforce is shaped to meet modern crime demands.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103549 on 14 January 2026.

What his expected timetable is for the implementation of measures to expand access to talking therapies, assertive outreach, and digital access to mental health support through the NHS App under the 10-Year Health Plan.

To deliver the shift from analogue to digital that is set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will create a digital front door for mental health care through the NHS App to boost access to early support and to empower people to take steps to manage their symptoms. This has already started, with mental health appointment management now available in eight National Health Service trusts, with a further 18 trusts now funded to come online soon. Underserved groups will be able to find and access Talking Therapies through targeted messaging from next year as well. We have also been making improvements to the self-referral pathways between NHS 111 online and NHS Talking Therapies, meaning that the 20,000 people with mental health queries who go to NHS 111 online are now better served. This is in addition to supporting people in crisis through the 111 online symptom checker that advises on what to do next. We are also planning to move all direct-to-patient communication services to NHS Notify and use NHS App-based ‘push’ notifications as the preferred method of contact so that patients can access referral and appointment details, and share and update information with ease. More widely, we support the adoption of digital technology across the NHS Talking Therapies pathway. NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provide assurance around Digitally Enabled Therapies with a strong evidence base, and 7% of NHS Talking Therapies treatments are delivered via these tools. More recently, NICE has provided assurance around Digital Front Doors into NHS Talking Therapies services and we are seeing rapid adoption of these tools, which use artificial intelligence and can improve the quality and accuracy of the assessment. The NHS 10-Year Health Plan committed to improving assertive outreach care and treatment to ensure 100% national coverage in the next decade. Following the 2025/26 Planning Guidance, systems have reviewed their provision and developed local action plans to strengthen care and treatment. This has been supported by national guidance on intensive and assertive community mental health treatment which helps local areas assess and enhance their services. Recognising all the hard work and improvements systems have already made, we will continue working with regions and integrated care boards to ensure this remains a local priority.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of legislative reform for victims of (a) domestic and (b) economic abuse to exit joint mortgages safely and promptly; and what discussions she has had with the (i) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (ii) Financial Conduct Authority on the introduction of guidance for the financial industry on this matter.

This Government recognises the devastating impact economic abuse can have on victims. ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, outlined a package of commitments to tackle economic abuse. This included a commitment from His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) to work with key stakeholders, including industry and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to explore how joint mortgages are used as a tool of abuse and how victims and survivors can be better supported. This commitment was also included in HMT’s recent Financial Inclusion Strategy.The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls met with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury as both strategies were developed, and remains committed to working closely with her HMT counterparts as they deliver on this agenda.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on the delivery of non-statutory services in Hampshire.

This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Hampshire we are making available up to £1,360.0 million in 2027-28 in Core Spending Power, an increase of 18% compared to 2024-25. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an enrichment premium for schools.

The department will publish the new Enrichment Framework in early 2026. The framework has been developed following extensive research and collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and a working group of experts from schools, youth, sports and arts organisations. We are also putting in place a range of support to help schools further, including PE and school sport partnerships, the national network of Music Hubs, £24million for the TechYouth programme and £22.5 million from DCMS over three years to create a tailored enrichment offer in up to 400 schools. A further £132.5 million of dormant assets funding is being targeted towards services, facilities and opportunities to meet the needs of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the government is continuing to invest an additional £3.6 million per year to support and maintain cadet units in schools as part of the Cadet Expansion Programme.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle reported delays, unanswered correspondence, and difficulties accessing civil service pension records.

In November 2023, the Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita. This was under the previous government. The Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025. We are aware that Capita’s current performance is having a detrimental impact on some members. We are working urgently with Capita to resolve these issues, and to ensure that civil servants, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve. We have established a cross-departmental team to work with Capita to develop and implement a recovery plan. Alongside this, Capita is increasing staffing in key areas, to increase processing times in relation to new retirements and support for members, particularly those impacted by delays.

What progress her Department has made towards the development of the Enrichment Framework; and if she will set out a timetable for its publication and implementation.

The department will publish the new Enrichment Framework in early 2026. The framework has been developed following extensive research and collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and a working group of experts from schools, youth, sports and arts organisations. We are also putting in place a range of support to help schools further, including PE and school sport partnerships, the national network of Music Hubs, £24million for the TechYouth programme and £22.5 million from DCMS over three years to create a tailored enrichment offer in up to 400 schools. A further £132.5 million of dormant assets funding is being targeted towards services, facilities and opportunities to meet the needs of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the government is continuing to invest an additional £3.6 million per year to support and maintain cadet units in schools as part of the Cadet Expansion Programme.