Written questions by Taylor.

What assessments and consultation have been undertaken to understand the potential impact of the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance within Making Tax Digital on the daily running of childminding businesses.

At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with MTD for Income Tax thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. HMRC engaged with stakeholders before the Budget and continue to engage with them, and will produce updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK. Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance for child minders within Making Tax Digital on the level of complexity for users of the system.

At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with MTD for Income Tax thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. HMRC engaged with stakeholders before the Budget and continue to engage with them, and will produce updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK. Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.

If he will publish in full the UK-US pharmaceuticals deal, including a full assessment of the cost implications for the NHS and wider public purse.

In December 2025 we agreed a landmark deal with the US that results in 0% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US for 3 years – the lowest rate offered to any country. As you’d expect, there will now be further work to finalise underpinning details. Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the spending review period are expected to be around £1bn. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has assessed the potential impact of preparing for scheduled elections that have been cancelled on costs and council officer time.

Spend on elections is a matter for local authorities. Where councils have asked for their elections to go ahead, those elections are going ahead. The Government has listened to councils, as we said we would. Postponement also avoids the cost of holding elections to councils that are proposed to be abolished.

What research his Department is undertaking into the treatment of Polycystic Kidney Disease.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including polycystic kidney disease.These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on polycystic kidney disease to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.Details of NIHR funding allocated to individual research awards are openly published and updated quarterly on the ‘Open Data’ site of the NIHR website, at the following link:https://nihr.opendatasoft.com/explore/

What steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for kidney transplants for people with Polycystic Kidney Disease.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organisation responsible for organ donation services in the United Kingdom, including management of the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) and the transplant waiting list.NHSBT is working to reduce the kidney transplant waiting list, including for patients with polycystic kidney disease, by promoting living donation and ODR registration, as well as taking action to increase donation consent rates. Current activity includes: high profile year-round campaigns including Living Donation Week, Organ Donation Week, and World Kidney Day, in partnership with a wide range of charities and community groups; year-round national and regional media and public relations, focusing particularly on the need for more Black and Asian organ donors to reduce current inequities in access to transplants; and funding Community Grants Programmes and partnering with trusted community organisations to support leaders with expertise in organ donation in delivering culturally and religiously sensitive messaging.The Organ Donation Joint Working Group, formed jointly between NHSBT and the Department, recently published recommendations to improve organ donation consent rates, increase societal action for organ donation, and increase the pool of potential donors in its report published on 21 January 2026. The report is available at the following link:https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/38066/odjwg-report.pdf

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help people with food prices.

Defra is taking forward a range of actions to help address food prices by tackling the underlying drivers of cost and supporting access to affordable food. The department is working closely with the Department for Business and Trade to assess how regulation affects food businesses and food prices, through the Food Inflation Gateway. This work is helping to identify where burdens can be reduced or sequenced more effectively. Alongside this, through the Good Food Cycle, Defra set out priority outcomes focused on improving access to healthy, affordable food and strengthening local food systems. More broadly, the Government is providing targeted support to help households manage food costs. From April, the value of Healthy Start will rise by 10% to provide greater support for pregnant women and young children, alongside work with retailers to expand access to healthy, affordable food. Free School Meals will be extended to around half a million additional pupils, saving families up to £495 per child annually and lifting approximately 100,000 children out of relative poverty. The Holiday Activity and Food Programme will also continue with £600 million in funding.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of fireworks noise on the welfare of people living with PTSD and other noise-sensitive health conditions.

The Government recognises that many people are concerned about the use of fireworks. Ministers will consider how best to minimise harm while recognising the role that fireworks play in cultural and community life. Any work will take into account experiences from individuals alongside the data provided by local authorities, emergency services, animal welfare organisations and the fireworks industry.No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks noise or the impact on pets or on the welfare of people living with PTSD and other noise-sensitive health conditions.I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on issues relating to fireworks, including noise, to inform future action.

Whether he plans to require supermarkets to publish data comparing food price increases with payments to suppliers.

The Government has no current plans to require supermarkets to publish data comparing food price increases with payments to suppliers.The Government continues to work closely with retailers, suppliers, trade associations and regulators to monitor developments in this sector and to understand any issues that may affect transparency, competition and outcomes for consumers and businesses.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in protecting consumers from rising food prices.

The Government is undertaking the fourth statutory review into the effectiveness of the GCA and the report will be published as soon as practicable. The Groceries Code, a competition measure owned by the Competition and Markets Authority, aims to ensure the fair treatment of direct suppliers to large grocery retailers but does not regulate prices paid by consumers.

Whether he will review current fireworks legislation in relation to noise levels.

The Government recognises that many people are concerned about the use of fireworks. Ministers will consider how best to minimise harm while recognising the role that fireworks play in cultural and community life. Any work will take into account experiences from individuals alongside the data provided by local authorities, emergency services, animal welfare organisations and the fireworks industry.No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks noise or the impact on pets or on the welfare of people living with PTSD and other noise-sensitive health conditions.I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on issues relating to fireworks, including noise, to inform future action.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of fireworks noise on the welfare of pets.

The Government recognises that many people are concerned about the use of fireworks. Ministers will consider how best to minimise harm while recognising the role that fireworks play in cultural and community life. Any work will take into account experiences from individuals alongside the data provided by local authorities, emergency services, animal welfare organisations and the fireworks industry.No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of fireworks noise or the impact on pets or on the welfare of people living with PTSD and other noise-sensitive health conditions.I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on issues relating to fireworks, including noise, to inform future action.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) customs checks and (b) regulatory barriers in UK-EU trade on food prices.

Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Some of these factors are influenced by our trading arrangements with other countries. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors. One source of barrier facing UK-EU trade are SPS checks. The Government estimates the measures introduced through the Border Target Operating Model would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2 percentage points in total over a 3-year period. Final_Border_Target_Operating_Model.pdf

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the cancellation of some local election on (a) communities and (b) local authorities.

In reaching his decisions on 2026 elections, as set out to the House on 22 January 2026, the Secretary of State adopted a locally led approach and carefully considered all the representations made. He heard from councils across the country about the capacity challenges they face as they seek to deliver local government reorganisation and how postponement would release essential capacity. Postponement will enable those councils to focus work on reorganisation, and setting up new councils ready to deliver public services from day one. Where councils have asked for their elections to go ahead, those elections are going ahead. The vast majority of local elections will go ahead across England in May.

If he will list the assessments his Department has made on the potential impact of the removal of the Resident Labour Market Test in 2020 on trends in the level of doctors.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of the removal of the Resident Labour Market Test in 2020 on trends in the level of doctors.The number of applications to foundation and speciality training has increased over recent years, both from people graduating from United Kingdom medical schools, or UK medical graduates, and from graduates of international medical schools, or international medical graduates.For specialty training, the number of international medical graduates applying for places has significantly increased since 2020. Data from the General Medical Council (GMC) shows that the number of non-UK trained doctors applying for Core Training Year One and Specialty Training Year One places has increased from 5,326 in 2019 to 18,857 in 2024, a 254% increase. Over the same period the number of UK trained applicants increased from 8,836 to 11,319, a 28% increase.Internationally trained doctors may also be seeking employment outside of medical specialty training posts and GMC data shows that the proportion of doctors taking up or returning to a GMC licence to practice who were trained outside of the UK was 57% in 2019 which has increased to 66% in 2024.To tackle bottlenecks in medical training pathways, the government introduced The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the NHS for a significant period for specialty training.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing security guarantees to Greenland outside the NATO framework alongside key European allies.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 5 January, and her responses to questions raised in that debate, where she set out in comprehensive terms the UK's position on Greenland.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of NHS digital-first services on access to care for older people who are not confident using online tools.

National Health Service organisations must ensure that all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged to not discriminate. This means that although we promote digital first services to those who choose to use them, a non-digital solution should be available for those patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally to ensure continued, equitable access to care. These non-digital routes must be available for all services provided by NHS organisations.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of car parking charges in hospital car parks on access to healthcare.

It is important that the National Health Service is as accessible as possible to those that need it most. That is why the NHS already provides free hospital car parking to those in greatest need. This includes disabled blue badge holders, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of children staying overnight and NHS staff working overnight.More widely, all NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area, with further information available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

What additional support HM Revenue and Customs can provide to visually impaired people using the Self Assessment system.

HMRC’s online services are designed to work with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Guidance and help text are built into the online tax return and customers can access support through webchat or textphone if they need it. HMRC also offers a range of support to help visually impaired customers complete their Self Assessment. Customers can request their correspondence and tax return information in Braille, large print or audio formats. These requests are handled by HMRC’s dedicated Visually Impaired Media Unit (VIMU), which ensures that future communications are automatically produced in the customer’s preferred format. In 2024/5, VIMU provided over 59,500 customers with correspondence in an alternative format. HMRC also has an Extra Support Team that provides tailored assistance for people who need additional help, including those with visual impairments. This team can arrange phone or video appointments and guide customers through the Self Assessment process. Anyone who needs extra help can contact the Self Assessment helpline or find information on GOV.UK. The service has grown, with the Extra Support team expanding by around 28% in 2024-25. During that time, it supported more than 150,000 customers in vulnerable circumstances.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce legislation in 2026 to ban the sale and supply of peat for horticultural use.

The Government plans to legislate for a ban on the sale of peat and peat containing products when parliamentary time allows. This commitment is embedded within our Carbon Budget planning and, most recently, reflected in the latest iteration of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).