Written questions by Wheeler.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit accurately assess the harms and benefits of the tests they authorise.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enhancing the regulatory oversight of the harm-benefit analysis process for service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit.

Awaiting answer.

For what reason service licences issued by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit do not require information on the exact substance that is being tested in the tests they authorise.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of HMRC-recognised software available for the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment, including the availability of free and low-cost options; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of HMRC providing free software for this purpose.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether regarding the reduction of food waste, (a) her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of current requirements for the legibility of use by and best before dates on food packaging, and (b) her Department has plans to review minimum font size or contrast standards.

Awaiting answer.

For what reason the cut-off date for eligibility for receipt of winter fuel payment is in June.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet with the UK plastics recycling industry to discuss the exclusion of UK recyclate from the End of Life Vehicles regulations.

We are monitoring ‘European preference’ and ‘Made in Europe’ clauses included in legislation and strategies. We are working across government departments and with key industry stakeholders to understand potential impacts. The government is also reviewing the new EU circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles to determine the potential impacts for UK businesses. We recognise the interconnected nature of the automotive industry between UK and EU markets, and we will work with industry and other key stakeholders to assess the implications of the EU’s new regulations, particularly on end-of-life vehicles.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of excluding UK recyclate from the End of Life Vehicles regulations on (a) the environment and (b) the plastics industry.

We are monitoring ‘European preference’ and ‘Made in Europe’ clauses included in legislation and strategies. We are working across government departments and with key industry stakeholders to understand potential impacts. The government is also reviewing the new EU circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles to determine the potential impacts for UK businesses. We recognise the interconnected nature of the automotive industry between UK and EU markets, and we will work with industry and other key stakeholders to assess the implications of the EU’s new regulations, particularly on end-of-life vehicles.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of excluding UK recyclate from the Single Use Plastics Directive on (a) the environment and (b) the plastics industry.

We are monitoring ‘European preference’ and ‘Made in Europe’ clauses included in legislation and strategies. We are working across Government departments and with key industry stakeholders to understand potential impacts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 115765, on NHS: Redundancy Pay, whether he will consider giving the NHS Staff Council a mandate to negotiate NHS partial retirement and statutory redundancy payments with trade unions.

The Department has received correspondence from the NHS Staff Council on this matter.The Department considers all requests from the NHS Staff Council for a mandate to negotiate and make changes to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service on a case-by-case basis. Changes to policy are considered in light of the available evidence, analysis, and relevant legal advice.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the data protection practices of overseas third-party age-verification providers operating under the Online Safety Act.

UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act impose obligations on data controllers – which include age verification services - to process data fairly, lawfully, and transparently. The UK’s data protection legislation provides for extraterritorial scope, which applies to organisations offering goods or services or monitoring the behaviour of data subjects within the UK.The Information Commissioner’ Office can investigate any concerns raised about the misuse or mishandling of data.Ofcom and the ICO recently issued a joint statement on age assurance to provide greater clarity on how services can meet their obligations under the OSA and UK data protection legislation.

Whether he has considered the potential merits of creating a dedicated disability rights enforcement body.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) holds the role of enforcing equality legislation as part of its statutory obligations, including protection from disability discrimination. The EHRC is an independent Non Departmental Public Body and Great Britain’s national equality and human rights body. It regulates equality law across England, Wales and Scotland and human rights across England & Wales. The EHRC makes its own enforcement decisions, including any inquiries and investigations it decides to conduct.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the avenues available to disabled persons to (a) access and (b) enforce their rights as prescribed by the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) protects people who have a long-term physical or mental impairment that substantially affects their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The Act provides a range of protection for disabled people in a range of areas of life - including employment, services, education and transport. The types of protection include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, harassment and victimisation. Any disabled person who may have been personally discriminated against because of a disability may also contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). EASS is a government-commissioned helpline that provides free advice and support to individuals in England, Scotland, and Wales on issues relating to equality and human rights. Although EASS does not provide legal advice or enforce the Equality Act 2010, it supports individuals to resolve their disputes informally and can refer cases to the Equality & Human Rights Commission. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has an enforcement role and is able to provide individuals with support in bringing cases. As an independent body, it makes its own decisions on how best to use its resources to offer support in cases that have a strategic or wider significance. Further details about the referral process is available on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/our-work/our-legal-work/our-legal-powers/contacting-us-about-legal-issue.

Communities and Local Government, how many households in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan were assessed as owed homelessness duty, broken down into (i) prevention duty, (ii) relief duty and (iii) main duty in each year since 2020.

The government collects data on the number of people in temporary accommodation as a quarterly snapshot. To compare the number of people in temporary accommodation in Salford and Wigan year-on-year, you can compare the latest data from 30 September 2025 here with the same day in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020. The government publishes annual data on the number of households owed a prevention and relief duty by local authority. You can find the data on gov.uk for 2024/25, 2023/24, 2022/23, 2021/22 and 2020/21. If homelessness is not successfully prevented or relieved and an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance and has priority need, the main duty is owed and the applicant will be placed in temporary accommodation. To compare the number of people owed a main duty in Salford and Wigan year-on-year, you can use the links to the published temporary accommodation data given above.

Communities and Local Government, how many households were living in temporary accommodation in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan in each year since 2020.

The government collects data on the number of people in temporary accommodation as a quarterly snapshot. To compare the number of people in temporary accommodation in Salford and Wigan year-on-year, you can compare the latest data from 30 September 2025 here with the same day in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 and 2020. The government publishes annual data on the number of households owed a prevention and relief duty by local authority. You can find the data on gov.uk for 2024/25, 2023/24, 2022/23, 2021/22 and 2020/21. If homelessness is not successfully prevented or relieved and an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance and has priority need, the main duty is owed and the applicant will be placed in temporary accommodation. To compare the number of people owed a main duty in Salford and Wigan year-on-year, you can use the links to the published temporary accommodation data given above.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of dwellings in the private rented sector in (a) Salford and (b) Wigan in each year since 2020.

The Office for National Statistics publishes annual estimates of private rented sector dwellings in each local authority. These estimates can be found on gov.uk here.

Whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of introducing measures outside of the Pension Schemes Bill to protect the real terms value of pre-1997 defined benefit pension schemes.

We recognise that the absence of indexation on pension rights accrued before April 1997 can erode the value of pensions over time and affect members who rely on these benefits in retirement. The reforms we have introduced through the Pension Schemes Bill will enable more trustees of well funded defined benefit schemes to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and allow them to negotiate additional benefits for members, including discretionary indexation. More broadly and outside the Pension Schemes Bill, the Pensions Regulator already expects trustees to consider whether members would benefit from a discretionary increase and to take account of any history of making such awards.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of giving the NHS Staff Council a mandate to negotiate NHS partial retirement and statutory redundancy payments with trade unions.

This specific assessment has not been made.Partial retirement does not mean that National Health Service staff are ineligible for redundancy payments. However, taking partial retirement may change the way in which contractual redundancy payments are calculated.The rules concerning the calculation of redundancy payments for NHS staff who have previously taken pension benefits, are determined in accordance with their contracts of employment, and statutory redundancy entitlements.Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS terms and conditions of service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives.These provisions are set out under Section 16 of the NHS staff terms and conditions of service handbook. This section states that service used for the purposes of calculating previous pension benefits will not count for the calculation of a contractual redundancy payment. Statutory redundancy entitlements are unaffected.The Department commissions NHS Employers to provide guidance for employers on a range of topics, including NHS redundancy arrangements and retirement options for NHS staff.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 110592, whether his Department has made an estimate of the earliest date nerandomilist could become available to patients after NICE publishes its final guidance.

Subject to licensing, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) currently expects to publish final guidance on nerandomilast in September 2026. In formulating its recommendations, NICE's independent Appraisal Committee expects to hold its first meeting on 15 July. If the Appraisal Committee is able to recommend nerandomilast, NICE would aim to publish its final draft guidance within three weeks of the committee meeting.If recommended in final NICE guidance, the National Health Service would be required to fund treatment within three months, although some medicines are provided sooner through support from the Innovative Medicines Fund.

Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that communities are consulted on the use of Pride in Place funding in Worsley and Eccles constituency.

The community will decide how to invest £20m of Pride in Place Funding in Peel Green. A Neighbourhood Board led by an Independent Chair and made up of local people will come up with a plan for this investment and they must engage their wider community. We have brought forward £150,000 of funding for Peel Green, and all neighbourhoods in Phase Two of the programme, so they can kickstart this engagement now.