Written questions by Collinge.

Whether her Department has considered mandating the incorporation of the National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales 2023 into employment contracts for teachers in academies.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 80414.

What her planned timetable is for responding to the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the minimum income requirement for the UK’s spouse and partner visa routes.

The report is under review and we will consider the recommendations made by the MAC. The Home Secretary will respond to the review in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to update families affected by sodium valproate on compensation following publication of the Hughes Report; and when families should expect to receive details of (a) interim and (b) main payments.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to (a) gender identity and (b) trans healthcare services.

NHS England has established NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services in London, the North-West, and the South-West in 2024. A fourth service is planned to open in the East England region in January 2026. Work remains ongoing to establish commissioned services that provide a pathway for children and young people with gender incongruence in the other regions, by March 2027, on a phased basis.NHS England has increased the number of adult Gender Dysphoria Clinics in England from seven to 12, with the rollout of five new adult gender pilot clinics since July 2020. The rollout of these clinics is helping to tackle long waiting times.NHS England is currently carrying out a review of adult gender services, with the aim of producing an updated service specification. The review, which is chaired by Dr David Levy, will examine the model of care and operating procedures of each service, and will carefully consider experiences, feedback, and outcomes from clinicians and patients.

Whether she is considering changing the child benefit taper system to reflect household rather than individual income.

The Government understands the concerns that have been raised about basing the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) on individual rather than household incomes. However, basing the charge on household rather than individual incomes would come at a significant fiscal cost if we were to ensure that no families lose out.By withdrawing Child Benefit from high-income parents where the higher earner earns £60,000 or more, the HICBC helps to ensure the sustainability of the public finances and protect our vital public services.

Whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that the national commitment to fracture liaison services is supported by a clear rollout plan.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Stockton West on 13 October 2025 to Question 77186.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve 4G and 5G mobile connectivity on major motorway routes in areas where there are known signal black spots.

According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations Spring update, published on 8 May 2025, 4G in-vehicle coverage on UK major roads is 96% from at least one mobile network operator (MNO) and 81% from all four MNOs. The Shared Rural Network has improved 4G mobile coverage along 16,000km of roads. The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (June 2025) committed to work with Ofcom and other regulators to assess the telecommunications needs of the transport sector, including the future requirements of roads, by December 2026. My officials are undertaking this assessment alongside the Department for Transport and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prepare for the implementation of the Global Ocean Treaty.

The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement is an important step toward coordinated global action to tackle the climate and nature crisis.  The UK Government introduced legislation on 10 September to enable the UK to implement its obligations under the BBNJ Agreement and move towards ratification. We anticipate that a Statutory Instrument (SI) is required to implement changes to domestic legislation to implement BBNJ provisions relating to Environmental Impact Assessments before the UK can ratify. This SI is being developed by Defra and will be laid before Parliament after the BBNJ Bill receives Royal Assent. Defra will consult stakeholders on the proposed approach to the SI in Autumn 2025. As part of this, Defra is working closely with both the Marine Management Organisation and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science to understand any practical aspects of implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the rent-a-chair model in the hair and beauty sector on (a) VAT compliance and (b) overall tax revenue; and what steps her Department is taking to prevent the misuse of that model for tax evasion.

The Government is committed to reducing non-compliance in the tax system and HMRC continues to tackle non-compliance across all areas of the economy, including VAT. Businesses providing personal care services, including hairdressers and barbers often operate using the ‘rent-a-chair’ business model. This unique but legitimate business model, unless applied correctly, can result in individuals being wrongly classed as self-employed for employment purposes. HMRC are committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence that suggests businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. HMRC will challenge businesses that either artificially separate to avoid exceeding the VAT registration threshold or design schemes to reduce the amount of VAT they owe and will take steps to ensure that they pay the right amount of tax.

What his planned implementation date is for the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority.

This Government is delivering several important reforms in the field of employment rights, and in other areas to support the mission of growing the UK's economy.This means that the volume of legislation before Parliament is very high and, subsequently, the Government no longer intends to bring the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill forward for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny in this session of Parliament.It will bring forward its planned legislation when Parliamentary time allows.

What steps her Department has taken to help reduce noise pollution caused by traffic.

The Government takes the impact of excessive noise on health, wellbeing and the natural environment seriously. Strict noise regulations for cars and motorcycles are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance before being placed on the market. Replacement silencers that are to be used on the road must also meet strict noise limits that are aligned with those of the original vehicle. The Department for Transport conducted roadside trials of noise camera technology between October 2022 and February 2023. Reports of these trials, including detailed assessment of the technology’s performance and potential merits, were published on 17 March 2024. Overall, the trials demonstrated that noise cameras currently have the potential to be used for enforcement, but only when accompanied by human review of the recorded evidence, which is likely to lower the cost effectiveness of deploying the technology in many circumstances. It is ultimately for local authorities and the police to consider what the most appropriate enforcement routes may be for addressing issues with excessive vehicle noise within their area. The use of noise camera technology has already been taken forward by some local authorities.

Whether his Department has considered introducing a statutory time limit for executors to apply for probate following a person’s death.

There is currently no maximum time limit within which a personal representative must obtain a grant of probate, but there are penalties laid down for administering an estate without a grant of representation, and there are time limits for paying tax for which an estate is liable prior to applying for a grant.There are also mechanisms for beneficiaries and other interested parties to hold personal representatives to account for failure to act in applying for probate, and if necessary to seek their removal.The existing legal framework offers flexibility, accepting the probate process is a complex one at an emotional time for many personal representatives and there are no plans at present to reform the law.

When he plans to publish guidance on the (a) timeline and (b) requirements for private rented homes to achieve an EPC rating of C; and what support will be made available for landlords with older properties.

Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. We received a significant number of responses and we will use this feedback to inform the government response, which will be published in due course. Support is currently available to landlords improve their properties. An eligibility tool is available at the Government webpage ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in your Home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), which provides tailored recommendations for home improvements to increase energy efficiency and clean heat.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring academy trusts to incorporate the National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales 2023 into the contracts of employment of teachers; and if she will bring forward legislation to make such incorporation mandatory.

The National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales is a national agreement between local authority school employers and teaching and headteacher unions. The government has no input into the agreement or its implementation. As it has no statutory force, while maintained schools are expected to incorporate its provisions into teachers’ contracts, there is no legal obligation for them to do so. Academies will, following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, be required to “have regard” to the entirety of the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document.

Whether his Department has considered adjusting prescription charges for partial emergency supplies of medication.

There are currently no plans to adjust the prescription charge for emergency supplies of medicines. Under the Urgent Medicine Supply (UMS) element of the National Health Service Pharmacy First Service, NHS 111 can refer patients to a pharmacy to obtain an emergency supply of a medicine they regularly receive. Patients who receive an urgent supply under the UMS will be charged their usual prescription fee if they are not exempt. Where an emergency supply is made outside of the UMS, it is for the pharmacy to charge as they think is appropriate given that they will not be reimbursed by the NHS, as the medicine was not dispensed against an NHS prescription.

Whether he plans to review the duration of medical exemption certificates for people with (a) type 1 diabetes and (b) other lifelong conditions.

Medical exemption certificates allow people with certain medical conditions to obtain their NHS prescriptions without charge, although not all the qualifying conditions which provide exemption are necessarily life-long.The five-year duration ensures that a patient’s continued eligibility is confirmed by a health professional, whilst minimising the burden on the patient and healthcare staff and creating a check point at least once every five years on the accuracy of patient details for verification of claims for exemption and for fraud detection purposes.Therefore, there are currently no plans to review the duration of medical exemption certificates for people with type 1 diabetes and other lifelong conditions.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the use of covid vaccines on levels of (a) hospitalisations and (b) disability caused by long covid.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.To inform JCVI considerations, the last assessment of the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on hospitalisations was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency using data from the 2023 spring and autumn COVID-19 vaccination programmes. The next evaluation is planned to occur in the next few months.Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.

With reference to the guidance entitled Skilled Worker visa: minimum salary if you’re under 26, studying, training or in a postdoctoral role, last updated on 22 July 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the salary threshold for the skilled worker visa for people under the age of 26 on (a) young professionals, (b) regional employers and (c) graduate visa holders seeking to transition to skilled worker status.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, published on 12 May, this Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.The Graduate route is designed to allow UK graduates time to work, or look for work, for a set period after completing their studies. It does not guarantee progression to the Skilled Worker route, for which an individual would need to find higher skilled, higher salaried employment after graduation and meet the requirements in place at the time they make their Skilled Worker application.On 2 July we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas. We expect the MAC to respond around the end of the year.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with (a) landowners and (b) Natural England on the (i) risk of wildfire in areas of moorland that is not actively managed and (ii) potential impact of policies of non-intervention in rewilded moorland areas.

This Government has engaged with public and private landowners, and Natural England, throughout the consultation process on amending The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021. The revised regulations, which were laid before Parliament on 9 September 2025, aim to make these landscapes more resilient to wildfire. We are encouraging land managers to develop good quality wildfire management plans. We also held workshops with a wide range of land managers to inform the new Heather and Grass Management Code. This is being drafted by Natural England and will set clear standards for managing habitats including moorlands.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is considering taking steps to standardise fees charged by veterinary practices for issuing animal health certificates.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 May 2025 to the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, PQ 49603.