Written questions by Vickers.

What progress has been made on reducing driving test waiting times.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. On the 18 December, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times across the country. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners and improving rules for booking driving tests. Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK. As of 10 March 2025, there were 573,352 car practical driving tests booked, and 31,689 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

What support her Department is providing to (a) Egglescliffe School and (b) all schools damaged by Storm Éowyn.

Egglescliffe school is a member of the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) and as a result of significant damage to the school roof during storm Éowyn the RPA team are working closely with the school to reinstate the damaged areas. Initial works to waterproof the affected buildings are underway and the permanent reinstatement plan is being developed.Any RPA members impacted by storm Éowyn who have made claims within the rules of the scheme will be similarly supported in the restoration of the affected part of the estate.Responsibility for ensuring the safety and condition of school buildings lies with the responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided bodies.Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources, it will provide additional support on a case-by-case basis. The department will provide support and advice to responsible bodies to minimise impact on pupils and prioritise the continuity of face-to-face education.All other schools that notified us of building related incidents due to Storm Éowyn have received advisory support and all pupils have returned to face-to-face education.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had meetings with commercial farm owners on proposed changes to inheritance tax relief.

I have visited farms across the country and met with a number of commercial farm owners since my appointment, and have discussed the inheritance tax relief with those who both support and oppose the changes.

How many commercial farms she has visited since announcing the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.The Government, HM Treasury officials, and Ministers meet with stakeholders on a regular basis.

What steps he is taking to support the chemical sector.

The chemicals sector underpins almost all manufacturing in the UK and is fundamental to maximising growth and productivity across the economy to drive forward the government’s missions, including delivering growth for all. Reforms are underway to address planning barriers to growth, channel finance towards growth priorities and accelerate the transition to net zero.This will be supported by our modern Industrial Strategy which will implement targeted policy interventions to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth.Last autumn’s Budget announced continued support for Energy Intensive Industries – including chemical companies – through £350M of additional funding across the next two years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for introducing mandatory food waste reporting.

In our manifesto, the Government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts across government, industry, academia, and civil society has been established to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work and we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy to evaluate what interventions may be needed as we develop the strategy.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage developers establishing new buildings to have (a) solar panels, (b) batteries and (c) heat pumps fitted; and what support is available to those developers.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the 1.5 million homes we will build over the course of this parliament will be high quality, well designed and sustainable. Renewable and low carbon technologies, such as solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, are a key part of our strategy to get to net zero via a decarbonised electricity grid. We must therefore take the opportunity, where appropriate, to encourage their adoption in new buildings.In 2021 the Government introduce an uplift in energy efficiency standards. New buildings are now required to produce significantly less CO2 emissions compared to those built to previous standards. Already we have seen many homes being built with solar panels and heat pumps.Future standards, to be introduced later this year, will set new buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels, ensuring they are fit for a net zero future. These buildings will be future proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. No further energy efficiency retrofit work will be necessary to enable them to become zero-carbon over time as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.A consultation setting out proposals for what the new standards should entail was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024. We are carefully considering the feedback received and will publish the Government response, setting our more detail on the content of the standards, in due course.

What funding her Department is providing for public transport projects in the North East.

We announced a £200m uplift for City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025/26, in addition to the £310m and £563m already allocated to Tees Valley and North East Combined Authority respectively. We announced a further £31m for buses in the region; reopened the Northumberland Line and funded new Metro trains.

If she will take steps to encourage the use of drone technology.

This government’s strategic vision is to maximise benefits of drone technology – for the economy and for communities – whilst ensuring their emergence is both safe and secure, and respecting the needs of local communities across the country.

Whether she plans to implement her Department’s policy paper entitled Future of Flight Action Plan, published on 18 March 2024.

The future aviation sector is central to delivering on the Government’s missions, including kickstarting economic growth and delivering opportunities for all across the country. My Department and I remain committed to delivering on the five future of flight strategic outcomes, which include demonstration and then routine use of drones operating Beyond the operator’s Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) at scale, and initial demonstrations of piloted electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) flights, followed by routine use and autonomous operations.

If he will take steps to reduce regulation for businesses.

The Government is determined to kick-start economic growth, which is why it is essential that we identify areas where the costs of regulations may be unnecessarily high and burdensome for businesses. This is why the Department is developing an ambitious regulatory reform agenda to ensure that any future regulation, or reforms to regulation, work for businesses, consumers and supports the Government’s growth mission. As part of this, we are working across government to identify regulatory reforms that will support the Industrial Strategy. Our proposals will be set out in due course.

If she will take steps to promote the wider adoption of drones by fire services.

Fire and Rescue Services have been early adopters of drones which can improve decision making, operational efficiency and reduce risk to firefighters. We work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council which co-ordinates the use of Fire & Rescue Service Drones, ensuring services are aware of new technology and the benefits available.Fire and rescue authorities are operationally independent from government and decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions and keep their communities safe are a matter for each fire and rescue authority, based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances. Any consideration of equipment, including drones, will be part of this process.

What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on business rates.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. The Secretary of State works closely with all his cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer. To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. The Government has also published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and inviting industry to co-design a fairer business rates system: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-business-rates

What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector.

Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and are vital for economic growth. This is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year. Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

If she will take steps to promote the wider adoption of drones by police forces.

The decision to use drones and in which circumstances are operational matters for police forces who are subject to the requirements of the Air Navigation Order and Data Protection legislation when operating drones.Drone technology is developing at a rapid pace, and therefore, in FY24/25 the Home Office has allocated over £4m to support national police-led programmes of work to support police use of drones and explore the benefits that future drones’ capabilities may provide to police operations - including, standardising police operations, trialling innovative use of drones to improve police productivity, and supporting the progression of a future operating model for police aviation that considers both crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Post Office closures on local communities.

The UK Government is as committed as ever to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network. It is inevitable that with a network of this size, there will be variations in the number of branches open at any one time. As postmasters move on, branches close and new ones open. The Post Office Chair’s recent announcement on the future of the Post Office has led to concerns around potential closures of Directly Managed Branches. However, no decisions have yet been taken on the future of any individual branch. While the Post Office network can fluctuate between areas and regions, the Post Office works with communities to consider how to best meet needs for Post Office services in a local area. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

What steps he is taking to encourage business confidence.

Growth is the number one mission of the Government and we will continue to work with and listen carefully to the business community. In the Budget, the Government was forced to make difficult choices to plug the black hole in the Government’s finances, but the fundamentals for doing business in the UK remains strong. The Government has already taken steps to strengthen business and investor confidence through, reforming the planning system, getting people back to work and creating the growth and skills levy. DBT is driving long term, inclusive growth through our Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy, Small Business Strategy and Plan to Make Work Pay.

What steps he is taking to help safeguard jobs in the UK automotive supply chain.

The automotive industry is an important part of the Government’s plans for growth. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we will support growth sectors to create high-quality, well-paid jobs across the country. The Budget committed over £2 billion of capital and R&D funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and their supply chains. Building on the achievements of the Automotive Transformation Fund and Advanced Propulsion Centre R&D programmes, we will launch a new initiative, kickstarting economic growth by supporting good jobs and productivity growth across the UK automotive sector. The Industrial Strategy will provide more details in the Spring.

What steps her Department is taking to use technology to improve its productivity.

As part of the Department’s ongoing transformation, we are increasing our use of automation, improving our underlying technology, and increasing the number of citizen self-service opportunities where it is appropriate to do so, meaning that, despite increased demand on our services, more of our time can be deployed onto the activities that support our customers at the point of demand.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of youth unemployment since 2010.

Youth unemployment in 2010 was high following the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession. The unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds for Jul-Sep 2024 is 14.8% (4.5 percentage points lower than in Jul-Sep 2010). In recent quarters the youth unemployment rate has been increasing. It has increased by 2.8 percentage points on the year. To address this our plan to get Britain working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work to reduce the number of young people not earning or learning. We are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers areas to test new ways of supporting young people into employment or training, by bringing together and enhancing existing programmes in partnership with local areas. We expect the trailblazers to launch from Spring 2025. The White Paper also sets out a range of measures to prevent youth inactivity before 18 – including an expansion of work experience and careers advice, action to tackle school attendance and steps to improve access to mental health services for young people Recent unemployment estimates are subject to heightened volatility due to ongoing data quality problems with the ONS Labour Force Survey. This is particularly the case for the 16 to 24-year-old group, which as a smaller population group has wider margins of error than whole population estimates. Additionally, data prior to Jun-Aug 2011 has not been re-weighted by the ONS causing a discontinuity.