Written questions by Vickers.

What steps she is taking to ensure employers are aware of the National Insurance relief when hiring apprentices under 25.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to question 50506: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-05-07/50506

Food and Rural Affairs, what his Department's policy is on genetic editing to prevent diseases in (a) plants and (b) livestock.

The secondary legislation necessary to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 for plants in England has successfully passed through Parliament and was passed into law on 13 May 2025. Through this enabling regulatory framework, crops with a range of beneficial traits including increased disease resistance can be developed more quickly. The Government is considering the requirements for a regulatory framework for precision bred animals as outlined in the Act. This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his polices of levels of economic growth in Northern Ireland.

Economic growth is the priority for this government, taking advantage of the UK’s unique strengths and untapped potential so we can put more money in people’s pockets, and our Industrial Strategy is central to that. The Industrial Strategy will be published in June and will support the Northern Ireland Executive’s plans for growth. We have identified eight sectors that offer the highest potential for growth and are working alongside the Northern Ireland Executive, business leaders, and trade unions to ensure that the whole of Northern Ireland benefits from the Industrial Strategy. The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency show that Northern Ireland experienced stronger growth than the United Kingdom as a whole last year. At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the Northern Ireland Executive would receive a record £18.2 billion this year - the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution. This includes a £1.5 billion top-up through Barnett in 2025-6. It is now for the Executive to allocate this money in line with its priorities and this Government wants to work with the Executive to help promote Northern Ireland as a fantastic place to invest and do business.

What steps he is taking to support the North Sea oil and gas sector.

The Government has consulted on ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’, setting out its overarching objective to make the North Sea a world leading example of an offshore clean energy industry and on its commitment to not issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields. A response setting out its next steps will be published in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reaching 24GW of nuclear capacity by 2050.

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan makes clear that nuclear will play an important role in our future energy system, providing low-carbon, baseload power to the grid. Government will continue to seek to streamline regulatory processes, and foster innovation in nuclear technology, to ensure that nuclear continues to play an important role in the net zero transition after 2030.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on household energy bills.

In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee energy security and protect billpayers is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. That is why government has a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. We have a sustainable, long-term plan to protect all UK billpayers from volatile international gas markets. Backed by £8.3 billion, Great British Energy is part of this plan, driving the deployment of the clean, homegrown energy we need to boost our energy independence. As a publicly owned company, Great British Energy will ensure UK taxpayers, billpayers, and communities reap the benefits of this plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent changes he has made to the Capital Grants scheme.

Defra announced on 24 February 2025 that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will introduce maximum grant thresholds for 4 groups of capital items in the standalone capital offer, from summer 2025. The thresholds will be £25,000 for water quality, air quality and natural flood management and £35,000 for boundaries, trees, and orchards. We will confirm the date that the standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open and announce any further changes to the scheme in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to encourage people to buy UK produce.

Defra is working in partnership across the food system, the Government and four nations to develop an ambitious new food strategy which delivers a food system we can be even more proud of. It will help protect our British traditions, unlock the food sector’s economic potential, strengthen food security, tackle obesity and protect our planet for future generations. Alongside, Defra is considering the policy options available to deliver on the Government's ambition for at least half of all food procured by the public sector to be, where possible, locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards, and to make it easier for British suppliers to bid for a share of the £5 billion spent annually on public sector catering contracts. To that end, the Government will conduct the first ever review of food currently bought in the public sector, including where it is bought from.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of decarbonising the electricity grid by 2030.

NESO's analysis confirmed delivering clean power by 2030 is deliverable, more secure, and could see a lower cost of electricity, and lower bills. We are committed to working with industry to grow our clean energy system with once-in-a-generation levels of energy investment – an estimated £40 billion, the vast majority of which will come from the private sector. The Government is leveraging public finance institutions like the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy to catalyse private investment. By providing early-stage funding, de-risking projects, and supporting the development of critical infrastructure, we aim to attract private capital and accelerate the deployment of clean power technologies.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce industrial carbon emissions.

Emissions savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives, improvements in resource and energy efficiency and industrial carbon capture are all needed for the industrial sector to transition to net zero, and government is developing a suite of policies to deliver these savings. We will bring forward a clear plan for industrial decarbonisation. A new Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy will set the strategic direction for our approach to working with industry towards a competitive and low carbon industrial base in the UK, ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions.

What estimate she has made of the number of farmers who will be impacted by changes to (a) Agriculture Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.These reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase biosecurity.

Biosecurity is paramount – it underpins safe food; protects human, animal and plant health; and supports a prospering economy and trade. This Government will be decisive and take the necessary action to protect our country from new and emerging and notifiable disease threats. We have in place robust measures to maintain and improve our ability to understand, detect, prevent, respond and recover from outbreaks. We monitor new and emerging threats to our biosecurity through our Veterinary Risk Group, Plant Heath Risk Group and the Human and Animal Infections Risk Surveillance Group, and our strong surveillance network provides an early warning system to detect signs of disease, pests or other threats such as antimicrobial resistance. This Government will act quickly to prevent pests and diseases entering the country by putting restrictions in place at the border. Our disease contingency plans are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain fit for purpose and that we have the necessary capacity and capability to respond to outbreaks should they occur. As part of this, the Government is committed to delivering a National Biosecurity Centre at the Animal and Plant Health Agency Weybridge campus - a world leading science centre protecting people and animals from disease outbreaks. We are also promoting best practice while providing practical support to livestock keepers in England through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of resilience of the national grid in the context of the potential disruption of offshore energy infrastructure.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network with diverse sources of supply and maintaining the security of electricity supply is a key priority for Government. We are working with the National Protective Security Authority, the energy industry, regulators and other stakeholders to continually improve and maintain the resilience and security of energy infrastructure. We work to reduce the vulnerability of networks and assets, taking into account a range of threats and future system changes. The National Energy System Operator can balance the system in a wide range of scenarios, including potential disruptions to offshore infrastructure.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Clean Heat Market Mechanism on the costs of installing new gas boilers.

The Clean Heat Market Mechanism does not require any change in the price of fossil fuel boilers. The Government took steps before introducing the scheme to revise the 2023 proposals in order to reduce impacts on boiler manufacturers and provide them more time to scale up supply chains.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce household energy bills.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past. We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the quantity of illegal food products that have entered the UK in the last six months.

It is not possible to estimate the amount of illegal food products which have evaded border checks and entered the UK in the last six months. Data supplied by Border Force to the end of 2024 indicates that it detained and seized 137,000 kilograms of illegal animal products and 18,000 kilograms of illegal plants and plant products at the UK border in the last six months of 2024.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the productivity forecast in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025.

The Office for Budget Responsibility is an independent macroeconomic forecasting body. As such it would not be appropriate for us to comment on the specifics of its forecasts.The Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy White Paper has an explicit ambition to support productivity, as well as economic growth, jobs, and wages across the UK, by delivering a credible 10-year plan which provides the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high-growth sectors that will drive our growth in the future.

What steps he is taking to ensure that enforcement powers for the Fair Work Agency are (a) proportionate and (b) equitable for (i) employees and (ii) businesses.

The Fair Work Agency (FWA) will not change the obligations on businesses who should always have been paying their workers correctly. The FWA’s enforcement powers are largely natural evolutions of powers that existing bodies have. The FWA will take a balanced approach to upholding workers’ rights and provide better support to businesses on how to comply with the law and will take tough action against rogue employers who exploit their workers. Most businesses want to do right by their staff, and it is not fair when they are undercut by a minority who flout the law.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed new powers for the Fair Work Agency on levels of regulation for businesses.

An impact assessment for the Fair Work Agency (FWA) was published on 21st October 2024.The FWA will take a balanced approach to upholding workers’ rights, providing better support on how to comply with the law but taking tough action against rogue employers who exploit their workers. Every business will be treated with fairness and equity, but it is not fair when businesses who want to do right by their staff are undercut by a minority who flout the law.

Whether her Department is taking steps to support Safe Hands plan holders financially impacted by its administration.

I am sympathetic to all the Safe Hands customers who have lost money, following the collapse of the firm in 2022. In January 2021, the Government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 29 July 2022. This has ensured that 1.6 million funeral plan customers are, for the first time, protected by compulsory and robust regulation as they seek to put their affairs in order. Unfortunately, the customers of Safe Hands do not qualify for compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) as the funeral plan industry did not become regulated by the FCA until 29th July 2022. It would not be appropriate for the Government to set the precedent or expectation that it will use taxpayer money to compensate consumers for the misconduct of unregulated firms or products which were not sold as FCA regulated at the time.DWP's Funeral Expenses Payments scheme offers financial support for a simple funeral for those on certain income-based benefits or tax credits. The scheme covers the necessary burial or cremation costs and provides up to £1,000 for other expenses.