Written questions by Mullane.

If it remains her policy to move to a multi-year police settlement model.

The Government recognises the importance of funding certainty to enable policing to deliver for their communities and is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle crime. That is why the Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years.As with previous years, more detail on force funding allocations for 2026-27 will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.

What progress has been made regarding on the manifesto commitment to roll out a direct entry scheme for detectives to boost investigation skills.

It is essential that police forces recruit the best and most able people to meet the evolving demands of policing and deliver the best possible service to the public.There are existing opportunities to join policing directly into detective roles, including through the Police Now programme, which enables graduates who may not have previously considered a career in policing to join in specialist roles.We are committed to ensuring a wide choice of entry routes available into policing to help to attract a diverse range of people, skills, experience and are considering this as part of wider police reform. In addition, we are funding a Leadership Commission, set up by the College of Policing and led by Lord Blunkett and Lord Herbert, which is examining the current entry routes into policing and potential alternative models to attract and develop talent.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of fully funding the specialist palliative (a) care, (b) advice and (c) assessment provided by hospices.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, as well as their loved ones. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area. It is important to note that hospices, like the NHS, provide both specialist and generalist palliative care and end of life care. Not all patients will require specialist palliative care. We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department of providing additional resource for local authorities to enforce 12 month relet bans on landlords who do not adhere to incoming legislation within the Renters Rights Bill.

In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities created by the Renters’ Rights Bill are fully funded.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending planning legislation on digital advertising screens.

The advertisement control regime seeks to control the impact of advertisements by reference to their effect on amenity and public safety. Responsibility for the application of the legislation rests with local planning authorities and they are best placed to consider the impact of specific advertisements. My Department has not made any assessment of the impact of digital advertising screens and we have no current plans to issue guidance to local planning authorities on the cumulative impact of such installations.

Whether his Department has prepared an impact assessment on the decision to freeze the local housing allowance.

The Secretary of State considers a range of factors when reviewing Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. This includes the impact of the current rental market, the Government’s goals on housing, and the wider fiscal context. In April 2024, LHA rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents costing £1.2bn in 2024/25 and £7bn over 5 years. LHA rates have been maintained at 2024/25 levels for 2025/26. The impacts of this are described in the explanatory memorandum for the legislation: The Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Modification) Order 2025 - Explanatory Memorandum The Secretary of State considers LHA rates annually in the Autumn. Autumn Budget decisions will be taken in the round, considering the Government’s missions and the challenging fiscal context.

What her planned timeline is for waiving visa fees for spouses and children of current and former serving personnel who are of non-UK nationality.

The Government remains committed to supporting current and former serving personnel and their families; ensuring that they do not face any disadvantage due to their service.The Home Office is actively working with the Ministry of Defence on the manifesto commitment to scrap visa fees for veterans and their dependants and will keep stakeholders updated on progress.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made in establishing a national social tariff for water consumers; and what steps he is taking to ensure that a national social tariff will end geographical disparities in the support available for consumers.

Water companies must ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. Companies have therefore more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help with their bills through social tariffs – from 4% to 9 and government expects industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported. The Independent Water Commission made a recommendation to consult on a National Social Tariff which the Government is taking into consideration and will provide a response to later this year in a White Paper.

What steps he is taking to incentivise the uptake of heat pumps.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants to property owners to enable them to transition away from fossil fuel to low carbon heating. The grant available under the scheme for air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps is £7,500. Support is also available to low-income households and social housing tenants under the Energy Company Obligation, Warm Homes: Local Grant, and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to install low-carbon heating measures, including heat pumps. This is in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on the installation of heat pumps, which will last until March 2027.

What steps he is taking to reduce electricity costs.

Over this Parliament the government will be working relentlessly to translate the much cheaper wholesale costs of clean power into lower bills for consumers. This will be core to every decision we make.

Whether her Department plans to include policies on autism in the youth employment strategy delivery plan.

The Department recognises that young people with autism can face significant barriers to seeking and remaining in employment. As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out our approach to supporting young people into employment, including the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee for all 18–21-year-olds in England. As part of this, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Education are working with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities who have commenced delivery of the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers. These Trailblazers are testing how new local leadership, accountability structures and provision can be integrated into a cohesive education, training and employment support for young people. Several areas are specifically designing support for young people with health conditions and disabilities, including autism. DWP also provides tailored employment support for 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes access to work coaches, Youth Hubs, and Disability Employment Advisors, who can offer personalised support to neurodivergent young people. The Government wants to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. We are looking to build on the findings of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment and have launched the Neurodiversity Academic Panel – an independent group of experts, many with lived experience—to advise on boosting awareness and inclusion across all age groups. The Government is committed to consulting with stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and those who are neurodivergent.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the decommissioning of supported housing schemes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 51474 on 19 May 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS 10-Year Plan reflects the specific (a) workforce, (b) training and (c) capacity needs of children's palliative care services.

As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have been carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative care and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and stakeholders.The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and children’s palliative care and end of life care services, will have a big role to play in that shift.A central part of our forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce, including how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the National Health Service needs to care for patients, including those with palliative care and end of life care needs, across our communities.We will also publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it, including for those with palliative care and end of life care needs.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include provisions for youths in the upcoming homelessness strategy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.

If her Department will remove the 2011 cap on Local Housing Allowance payable for temporary accommodation through the Housing Benefit Subsidy system.

DWP pays local authorities a Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation cases. There are restrictions on the amount paid, including a subsidy cap which is £500 per week in certain areas of London or £375 elsewhere. We recognise the financial pressures which local authorities are experiencing. MHCLG are increasing funding for homelessness services this year by an extra £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and are working closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to explore the impacts of subsidy rates on local authorities. Any future decisions on subsidy rates will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the current challenging financial environment at the appropriate fiscal event.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing emergency funding for temporary accommodation in London.

This government has increased funding for homelessness services in 2025/26 by £233 million to nearly £1 billion. This includes more than £277 million for London, an increase of more than £78 million from 2024/25.Councils can draw from the wider local government finance settlement to help meet homelessness and temporary accommodation costs. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 makes available a total Core Spending Power of up to £10.14 billion for London Boroughs excluding the GLA, representing an increase of 6.6%.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken with Homes England to encourage SMEs to build affordable homes.

The government has set Homes England a strategic objective that funding for the Affordable Homes Programme for 2021-26 should support use of small and medium-sized enterprise contractors. When Homes England assess a bid to the programme for funding, they will look at how the proposed development meets this strategic objective. Homes England will also include this objective in any grant agreement for the programme.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for the fire and rescue service as part of the upcoming spending review.

Overall, fire and rescue authorities have received around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. The Local Government Funding Settlement was published on 3 February and sets out funding allocations for all Local Authorities including Fire and Rescue. In 2025/26, standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5m in 2025/26. These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, represent a 3.6% increase in core spending power. The government has committed to performing a Zero-Based Review of all expenditure, conducting line-by-line scrutiny of spending. This is the first time in over a decade and a half that government departments have been asked to take such an approach, with what’s called a “zero-based review” last undertaken 17 years ago. The Spending Review will draw on this to ensure funding is aligned with the government’s priorities and the Plan for Change.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a VAT relief scheme for Further Education institutions.

Education services supplied by an “eligible body” are exempt from VAT. For VAT purposes, an “eligible body” broadly refers to most regulated, publicly funded, or not-for-profit education providers. This means no VAT is charged on supplies of education made by further education colleges, nor are further education colleges able to recover the VAT they have incurred on their expenditure. The Government is not currently planning to introduce a VAT refund scheme for further education institutions.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-evaluating the existing capital funding scheme for Further Education.

Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life. The government is investing £6.7 billion of capital funding for education in the 2025/26 financial year, a 19% real-terms increase from the 2024/25 financial year, including £950 million in skills. The department currently provides capital funding for further education (FE) through a wide range of programmes.In the Spring Statement 2025, £625 million of funding was announced to support construction skills training. The funding includes capital investment through the establishment of Technical Excellence Colleges and the creation of an employer match funding pot worth £80 million.On 1 April 2025, the department provided £302 million in new funding to FE colleges to support them to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estates. The new FE college condition allocation will help address the maintenance backlog and ensure a great environment for learning. Every FE college group will receive a share of this funding and will have the discretion to decide how funding is spent towards condition priorities for their estate.The department keeps all FE capital funding programmes under continuous review and any future capital investment will be subject to the spending review, which is due to conclude in summer 2025.