Written questions by Perteghella.

What information her Department holds on the number of current gross misconduct hearings for Warwickshire Police; and what the average length of time taken to conclude gross misconduct hearings for Warwickshire Police was over the past five years.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of current gross misconduct hearings for police forces, including Warwickshire Police. Nor does it publish information on the average length of time taken to conclude gross misconduct hearings.The Home Office does however collect and publish data on the number of police complaints, conduct matters, and misconduct proceedings (including cases and allegations) on an annual basis in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics.The latest information covers cases finalised in year ending 31 March 2024. The data tables accompanying these statistics contain information on individuals referred to proceedings by proceeding type and Police Force Area (table MP1), and the subsequent misconduct finding level (table MP3).Tables CM7a and RC7a contain information on the total time to finalise conduct and recordable conduct matter cases, by Police Force Area. These statistics include all finalised cases, including those not referred to misconduct proceedings or where no action was deemed necessary.These statistics are designated Official Statistics in Development to acknowledge that they should be interpreted with caution, particularly when comparing between years. Please see the user guide for further details https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/user-guide-to-police-misconduct-statistics/user-guide-to-police-misconduct-statistics.

If she will introduce a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund to provide financial support for children and young people travelling to specialist cancer centres for treatment.

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel. The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer. The Department of Health and Social Care has not made an estimate of the average distance travelled and cost incurred by children and young people when attending cancer appointments in the North Cornwall constituency. On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to allow almshouses to access housing-related grants.

Almshouse charities can bid for grant funding from the Affordable Homes Programme if they are registered social housing providers, subject to oversight by the Regulator of Social Housing. 264 out of 1,600 almshouses charities have already taken this step.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40830 on Dyslexia: Screening, whether her Department has considered international (a) evidence and (b) best practice in the support of pupils with specific learning difficulties.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with specific learning difficulties. As part of this, the department is considering both international evidence and best practice in its policymaking on special educational needs, with a focus on strengthening the evidence base on what works to identify and support needs in mainstream settings, including for specific learning difficulties.The department has commissioned evidence reviews from University College London, which will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people (age 0 to 25) with different types of needs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40830 on Dyslexia: Screening, how she plans to use the £1 billion provided for high needs budgets in the 2025-26 financial year.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We are providing a £1 billion increase to high needs funding to help meet the increase in costs local authorities will face this year, as they in turn provide support to schools and colleges, and ultimately to children and young people with SEND. Schools decide how to spend their budgets to meet their legal duties and other responsibilities, including support for their pupils with SEND, including those with dyslexia.High needs funding in England will total over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Of that total, Warwickshire County Council is being allocated over £104 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £6.9 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40830 on Dyslexia: Screening, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Key Stage 2 statutory assessments for recognising persistent reading difficulties.

End of key stage 2 tests and assessments enable teachers and parents to identify the areas in which individual pupils might require additional support so that they can succeed in secondary school. The tests also inform parents of their child’s achievements in relation to the expectations outlined in the national curriculum.While the key stage 2 English reading test is not a diagnostic tool for dyslexia, it may highlight a pupil’s difficulty with reading when compared against the age-related expectations in the national curriculum. Secondary schools can use this information to provide any relevant support for the pupil as they transition into year 7.The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report on 18 March 2025. The Review panel have been clear that assessments in key stage 1 and 2 are an important part of assessing children's progress throughout primary school, and that the system of primary assessment is generally working well. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people affected by fly-tipping required to clear waste on private land at their own expense.

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers. We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course. We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to provide support to people affected by environmental crimes.

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers. We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course. We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support (a) local authorities and (b) enforcement agencies to tackle fly-tipping in rural areas.

We recognise the burden that clearing fly-tipped waste places on landowners. We want to reduce incidents in the first place so that fewer landowners are affected. Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping and we want to see these at the centre of their efforts to tackle the problem. These include issuing fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 and prosecution. Upon conviction, compensation for the landowner’s clearance costs can be secured. We are seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their powers. We have also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course. We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

What steps she is taking to support survivors of domestic abuse and violence against women through the criminal justice system.

The Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. Ministers from a wide range of relevant Government departments regularly meet to ensure we are using all available levers to achieve this, and we will publish our cross-government strategy this summer.We are already taking action to improve the experiences of victims of domestic and sexual abuse by:Launching Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) in selected areas to provide more protection for victims;Introducing specialist rape and sexual offence teams in every police force, and domestic abuse experts in 999 rooms;Introducing free Independent Legal Advisers for victims of adult rape, so that victims better understand their legal rights; andEnsuring every CPS area has at least one dedicated Victim Liaison Officer in its RASSO unit, to improve victim communications.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of (a) young offenders institutions and (b) education provision in these institutions.

We recognise that current performance in our public sector young offender institutions (YOIs) is not where we need it to be. This puts staff under pressure and affects the quality of regime, including education opportunities, that we can offer children and young people.To drive performance improvements, we have developed roadmaps to effective practice which will focus on outcomes in areas such as safety, behaviour management support and education. Where required, action is being taken under the education contracts to require providers to improve performance, but this is a shared challenge, in which the maintenance of good order and discipline in establishments plays a key part.The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is working closely with education providers in the community, in particular those making provision for children who have experienced school exclusion, children with special educational needs and young people who have previously experienced, or are at risk of, being unemployed without involvement in education or training. These partnerships will be crucial to developing practice in our YOIs, but also in offering some continuity with children’s education on release.Work is under way to apply new learning frameworks to the current provision. This will create a wider range of pathways for children, and a roadmap will be used to promote these improvements.I recently met with education providers and the YCS, including governors, to explore the barriers and plans for improvement. Effective engagement with individual children and young people will make a huge difference in improving safety and achieving more positive outcomes for them on release.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to National Insurance contributions on small manufacturing businesses.

The Chancellor has decided to protect the smallest businesses, including in the manufacturing sector, by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, and removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, meaning all eligible employers benefit. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on budgets for the devolved adult skills fund.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary of the Treasury meet regularly with the Secretary of State for Education.At the Spending Review on 30 October, the Department for Education received a settlement providing total DEL funding of £99.7 billion in 2025-26. The Department is responsible for determining their budgets, including for the Adult Skills Fund, through their Business Planning process. Budgets beyond 2025-26 will be determined at phase 2 of the Spending Review on 11 June.Achieving growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity are key priorities for this Government. The Adult Skills Fund is a crucial component of both missions helping to provide a foundation for individuals to improve earnings and employment opportunities, and open doors to further learning. This Government is committed to seeing local government empowered and strengthened including through the devolution of adult skills.

What steps his Department is taking to support the growth of (a) small and (b) medium-sized manufacturing businesses.

This Government will continue to support the advanced manufacturing sector, including SMEs, through our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, where advanced manufacturing has been selected as one of eight growth-driving sectors.Support is available through our Made Smarter Programme where manufacturing SMEs will be able to adopt industrial digital technologies like robotics and autonomous systems to boost their productivity and competitiveness.Later this year the government will publish its Small Business Strategy, including policies on creating thriving high streets, accessing finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

With reference to the Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, how the £625 million for construction skills will be allocated; and when providers will receive (a) funding allocations and (b) bidding information.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced an additional £625 million of funding to support construction skills training, with the detail set out in the Spring Statement 2025. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers this Parliament.The measures will support the expansion of existing skills programmes, including Skills Bootcamps and apprenticeships, as well as help to deliver new initiatives, such as establishing ten Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction in every region in England.Additional information regarding allocations and bidding information at regional and provider level will be shared in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to improve (a) pay and (b) working conditions in further education colleges.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges and for the working conditions of their staff.FE Colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff. Unlike maintained schools, colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances.The department will be investing over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure enough funding is available to respond to the significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. We are making approximately £50 million of this funding available to colleges for April to July 2025 to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention.The Plan to Make Work Pay sets out an ambitious agenda to deliver our Plan for Change by ensuring employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empowering working people and contributing to economic growth. Once implemented, it will represent the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation, including for those in the FE sector.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of students that will be entering further education colleges in the 2025-26 academic year.

The information requested is not held centrally.For capital funding, the department uses information from a number of sources, including the Office for National Statistics, to understand future demand so that there is sufficient capacity in the system.For revenue funding for 16 to 19-year-olds, allocations to colleges are based on the previous year’s numbers, with growth funding available where there is exceptional growth. The most recently published 16 to 19 student numbers relate to the 2023/24 academic year and can be found in the funding allocations for the 2024/25 academic year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/16-to-19-education-and-skills-funding#published-allocations.

What steps her Department is taking to increase (a) teaching capacity and (b) student places in further education colleges.

To ensure that further education colleges can meet student demand, the department is spending approximately £87 million in the 2024/25 academic year to support in-year growth costs. This recognises the very large increase in students this year, which has led to the need for an unprecedented amount of in-year growth.The department will be investing over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year to respond to the significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. We are making approximately £50 million of this funding available to colleges for April to July 2025 to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention. In addition, eligible early career teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and priority technical subjects can receive up to £6,000 after tax annually, on top of their normal pay.In the 2025/26 financial year, the department is providing £10 million of capital funding to Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leeds City Council to support capacity for rising numbers of 16 to 19-year-olds, increasing opportunities in these places with the greatest pressures.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that local authorities have adequate (a) powers and (b) resources to (i) adopt and (ii) manage sustainable drainage systems.

The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. We will consider whether further changes are required to manage sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further reform. National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory power for local flood authorities to (a) adopt and (b) maintain sustainable urban drainage systems.

The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. We will consider whether further changes are required to manage sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further reform. National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.