Written questions by Wrigley.

Whether her Department plans to (a) publish guidance and (b) pursue agreements to help improve certainty for UK Blue Badge holders driving in EU member states.

The Blue Badge scheme in the UK is administered and enforced by local authorities and applies to on-street parking locations only. While the UK has informal reciprocal arrangements with EU Member States, acceptance of any non-UK badge is ultimately a matter for local authority discretion.The UK is a member of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport Resolution ECMT Resolution 97/4 and has accepted Resolution 97/4, but this is not mandatory, nor is it reflected in UK domestic legislation.The UK continues to recognise disabled parking cards issued in individual EU/EEA Nations for people visiting and travelling in the UK. Any confirmation of reciprocity of this goodwill gesture is not legally binding. It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with individual countries regarding continued recognition of the UK Blue Badge across the European Union (EU).Through close working and partnership with our French and Spanish friends and allies, this Government has now secured the mutual recognition with France regarding each other’s disabled parking permits and are now currently working on the final agreement with Spain. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel and this will also apply to Spain in due course.

If his Department will publish the number of former clients affected by the collapse of McClure Solicitors.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of former clients affected by the collapse of WW&J McClure Ltd (McClure) and is therefore not in a position to publish those figures.The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operates independently of government. Responsibility for regulating the sector sits with approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales. Information about the impact of an individual firm’s closure on its former clients, including any estimates of affected client numbers, is a matter for the relevant regulator and those responsible for the firm’s former files.Details of the SRA’s ongoing work in relation to McClure is available here: https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/mcclure/.

Whether she plans to seek mutual recognition of UK Blue Badges for disabled drivers when travelling in EU member states.

The Blue Badge scheme in the UK is administered and enforced by local authorities and applies to on-street parking locations only. While the UK has informal reciprocal arrangements with EU Member States, acceptance of any non-UK badge is ultimately a matter for local authority discretion.The UK is a member of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport Resolution ECMT Resolution 97/4 and has accepted Resolution 97/4, but this is not mandatory, nor is it reflected in UK domestic legislation.The UK continues to recognise disabled parking cards issued in individual EU/EEA Nations for people visiting and travelling in the UK. Any confirmation of reciprocity of this goodwill gesture is not legally binding. It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with individual countries regarding continued recognition of the UK Blue Badge across the European Union (EU).Through close working and partnership with our French and Spanish friends and allies, this Government has now secured the mutual recognition with France regarding each other’s disabled parking permits and are now currently working on the final agreement with Spain. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel and this will also apply to Spain in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on disabled drivers of levels of recognition of UK Blue Badges across EU member states.

The Blue Badge scheme in the UK is administered and enforced by local authorities and applies to on-street parking locations only. While the UK has informal reciprocal arrangements with EU Member States, acceptance of any non-UK badge is ultimately a matter for local authority discretion.The UK is a member of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport Resolution ECMT Resolution 97/4 and has accepted Resolution 97/4, but this is not mandatory, nor is it reflected in UK domestic legislation.The UK continues to recognise disabled parking cards issued in individual EU/EEA Nations for people visiting and travelling in the UK. Any confirmation of reciprocity of this goodwill gesture is not legally binding. It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with individual countries regarding continued recognition of the UK Blue Badge across the European Union (EU).Through close working and partnership with our French and Spanish friends and allies, this Government has now secured the mutual recognition with France regarding each other’s disabled parking permits and are now currently working on the final agreement with Spain. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel and this will also apply to Spain in due course.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing information for clients on their rights, options and available redress following the collapse of a regulated legal firm.

The legal profession in England and Wales, together with its regulators, operate independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales.The SRA can publish information for clients following the collapse of a regulated firm, including guidance on their rights, options and routes to redress. This includes information on accessing client files, the role of the SRA’s intervention process, compensation arrangements where applicable, and signposting to complaints and redress bodies such as the Legal Ombudsman. For example, the SRA has published specific guidance for clients affected by WW&J McClure Ltd entering into administration in 2021, which is available here: SRA | WW&J McClure and Jones Whyte | Solicitors Regulation Authority.The Government keeps the overall framework for legal services regulation under review and engages regularly with regulators. While the independent regulators publish information for clients affected by law firm collapses, the Government may seek to support access to this information for consumers where appropriate.

What discussions her Department has had with the European Commission and EU member states on the recognition of UK-issued Blue Badges for disabled drivers.

The Blue Badge scheme in the UK is administered and enforced by local authorities and applies to on-street parking locations only. While the UK has informal reciprocal arrangements with EU Member States, acceptance of any non-UK badge is ultimately a matter for local authority discretion.The UK is a member of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport Resolution ECMT Resolution 97/4 and has accepted Resolution 97/4, but this is not mandatory, nor is it reflected in UK domestic legislation.The UK continues to recognise disabled parking cards issued in individual EU/EEA Nations for people visiting and travelling in the UK. Any confirmation of reciprocity of this goodwill gesture is not legally binding. It is for individual EU Member States to decide if they will recognise a Disabled Parking Card issued in another country. Using a Blue Badge in Europe - GOV.UKThe Department for Transport has ongoing discussions with individual countries regarding continued recognition of the UK Blue Badge across the European Union (EU).Through close working and partnership with our French and Spanish friends and allies, this Government has now secured the mutual recognition with France regarding each other’s disabled parking permits and are now currently working on the final agreement with Spain. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel and this will also apply to Spain in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 December to Question 100721 on Boris Johnson and Peter Thiel, whether there is any (a) physical and (b) other form of record of the meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019.

The meeting is listed in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s diary, a hard copy of which is held by the Cabinet Office. This is the only physical record of the meeting that has been located.

When he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot dated 16 December 2025 on an FOI relating to a request to search for and provide copies of documents then held by the private office of the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson relating to a meeting with Peter Thiel on 28 August 2019.

Cabinet Office responded to the hon. Member’s request on 8 January 2026, within the statutory time limit.

When his Department plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Newton Abbot sent on the 27 of November 2025 with case ref MW04041.

As the majority of the issues raised do not fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, in line with Cabinet Office guidance, the correspondence was transferred out of the Department and accepted by the Home Office.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2024 to Question 52063 on a pump watch petrol price comparison platform, if he will implement a statutory open data scheme for fuel prices.

The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025, which provide the statutory footing for the Fuel Finder scheme, came into force on 18 December 2025. Registration to Fuel Finder has now launched for all petrol stations across the UK. Price reporting obligations for retailers will commence on 2 February and will require all petrol stations in the UK to report their prices within 30 minutes of a change. Motorists will begin to see the benefits of Fuel Finder later this year as near‑real‑time price data is made available to consumer app and navigational service providers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the Department's standard response and protocol to responding to Governments which have de-registered UK funded NGOs.

Our responses will vary depending on the circumstances of each case. The UK supports open and inclusive civic space and an enabling operating environment for civil society globally. In terms of the recent threat to deregister NGOs operating in Gaza, I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 5 January.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2024 to Question 52063 on a pump watch petrol price comparison platform, what recent progress he has made on implementing a statutory open data scheme for fuel prices.

The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025, which provide the statutory footing for the Fuel Finder scheme, came into force on 18 December 2025. Registration to Fuel Finder has now launched for all petrol stations across the UK. Price reporting obligations for retailers will commence on 2 February and will require all petrol stations in the UK to report their prices within 30 minutes of a change. Motorists will begin to see the benefits of Fuel Finder later this year as near‑real‑time price data is made available to consumer app and navigational service providers.

Whether NHS England issues internal guidance to staff on the use of language in planning documents to avoid ambiguity about whether requirements are mandatory.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

Whether NHS England has sought legal advice on whether the effective mandating of the Federated Data Platform requires a new competitive procurement or a contract modification notice.

The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) has not been formally mandated. Its role is, however, reinforced in the Medium Term Planning Framework 2026/27 to 2028/29, which can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29.pdf This framework sets the expectation that all providers and integrated care boards (ICBs) will onboard to the NHS FDP and begin using its core products, data capabilities, and population health management tools by 2028/29. The guidance highlights the importance of ensuring that providers across acute, community, and mental health sectors use the NHS FDP to support elective recovery, cancer, and urgent and emergency care. The NHS FDP was procured on the basis that every National Health Service trust and ICB would have a tenant within the platform. The existing contract supports use by community and mental health organisations as well as by acute providers. As such, a new competitive procurement or a contract modification notice is not required.

Whether NHS England distinguishes between the terms must, should, and are expected to in national planning guidance.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

What steps his Department is taking to improve workplace catering and break facilities for healthcare workers.

Good physical working environments are important for staff wellbeing and retention. Staff need to be given the time and space to rest and recover from their work, particularly when working on-call or overnight. This is recognised as a priority in the NHS People Promise which sets out the importance of employers prioritising spaces for staff to rest and recuperate, and ensuring access to hot food and drinks.In May 2024, NHS England and NHS Charities Together launched a £10 million Workforce Wellbeing Programme to support National Health Service staff in England. It will provide tailored health and wellbeing support to NHS staff, including grants to improve facilities. A three-year programme of work named Great Food, Good Health, led by NHS England, aims to improve the experience and quality of nutritious food that patients, staff, and visitors receive in hospital. As part of this, NHS England has made clear that NHS organisations must be able to demonstrate they have suitable 24/7 food service provision.

What steps his Department is taking to establish Staff Treatment Hubs.

Following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan on 3 July 2025, work is underway to develop implementation and operational plans for the staff treatments hubs. This will determine factors such as location, budgets, timeframes, and capacity.The commitment to staff treatment hubs draws on various evidence sources including NHS England’s internal Staff Treatment Access Review. This demonstrated the clear productivity and economic argument for investing in the health of our National Health Service staff, particularly focusing on mental health and musculoskeletal treatment services as the main drivers of sickness absence in the NHS, as well as wider sectors.

Whether NHS organisations are expected to justify deviations from NHS England planning guidance where such guidance is non-mandatory.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework sets national delivery targets for integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over multiple years. It sets performance expectations, based on nationally determined policies and budgets, and outlines enabling activities which will help ICBs and providers to deliver against said expectations.Whilst the Medium-Term Planning Framework does not impose requirements as in legislation or the Government mandate, ‘must’ and ‘expected to’ language is used for priority targets and where a nationally consistent approach would be beneficial, for example to reduce unwarranted variation or to ensure that specific Government commitments are met. The word ‘should’ is used in cases where local flexibility is appropriate based on local determination, demographics, and/or prioritisation.No internal guidance is issued to staff within NHS England specifically on the use of language within the Medium Term Planning Framework, but the text is checked to ensure consistency with the aforementioned principles. A suite of supporting materials, including technical guidance, webinars, and planning standards, are developed and shared across NHS England regions and the wider National Health Service system to support a clear understanding of the expectations and potential approaches to delivery set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.The regionally led assurance process for planning returns allows NHS England to work with ICBs and providers to understand variance from the asks within the Medium-Term Planning Framework, where warranted.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to review and reform Dartmoor Commons legislation this Parliament.

There is no commitment or timescale for implementing a review or reform of provisions as set out in the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the 24-month extension to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE) is applied automatically for those already holding UPE visas.

On 1 September, the Government announced in parliament that the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (UPE) would be extended for an additional 24 months to enable those eligible to obtain a further period of permission following their initial permission under UPE.Individuals who currently have permission under the UPE scheme will be able to apply for the extension online, in advance of their current permission expiring. More detail on the application process will follow in due course.By requesting Ukrainians to submit an application to further extend their permission, the Home Office can continue to identify those who are still in need of the UK’s sanctuary and residing primarily in the UK, as well as ensure that adequate safeguarding measures are in place for the most vulnerable applicants.The UK Government has always been clear that our offer of temporary sanctuary under the Ukraine Schemes does not lead to settlement in the UK, nor can it be relied upon to count towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application.However, the UPE extension reflects a generous and meaningful commitment to support those displaced by the conflict, while also respecting the Ukrainian Government’s strong desire for the future return of its citizens when it is safe to do so. The Government will continue to monitor developments in Ukraine closely and act responsibly in its response.