Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of replacing the VOA’s 2026 Revaluation list with the 2023 valuations list.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. At Budget, the Government announced wider reforms to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, reducing tax rates paid for by a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. The introduction of permanent, lower RHL tax rates is worth almost £1 billion to over 750,000 RHL properties. The tax rate on smaller high street businesses will be 33% lower than for businesses with the most valuable properties. Furthermore, from April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget, and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of using the 2023 valuations for business rates with multipliers of 0.2994 up to £51,000 and 0.333 over £51,000.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. At Budget, the Government announced wider reforms to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, reducing tax rates paid for by a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. The introduction of permanent, lower RHL tax rates is worth almost £1 billion to over 750,000 RHL properties. The tax rate on smaller high street businesses will be 33% lower than for businesses with the most valuable properties. Furthermore, from April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget, and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

Whether the proposal to retrofit solar panels and heat pumps in the Warm Homes Plan will apply to Housing Association properties.

Our vision is for every household in Britain to have the opportunity to benefit from clean energy technology in their home.Housing association tenants and low-income households are already having these technologies installed through the Warm Homes: Social Housing fund and Local Grant schemes. The Warm Homes Plan will ensure low-income and fuel poor households, including those in housing association properties in the social rented sector, will benefit from an investment of around £5 billion to 2030 in measures including solar panels and heat pumps.

What due diligence checks were carried out prior to the creation of Ziglu Bank in 2020.

Ziglu Limited is an electronic money institution which has been authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 since September 2020. These regulations require firms to meet important standards before they are allowed to carry out payment services and issue electronic money, and the FCA carries out supervision to ensure that it meets the required standards. Ziglu also provides cryptoasset services and is registered with the FCA for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.On 23 May 2025, the FCA placed restrictions on Ziglu in relation to particular products. On 17 June, Ziglu agreed to stop carrying out both payments and cryptoasset activities while allowing customers to withdraw funds. On 7 July, Ziglu entered special administration and the FCA is engaging with the special administrators as appropriate.Payments and e-money firms are required to safeguard customer funds and segregate these from funds which belong to the firm. The special administrators are working to carry out an assessment of all funds held by Ziglu to establish which are safeguarded for customers, and which belong to Ziglu. However, cryptoasset activities are currently unregulated and Ziglu is not required to safeguard funds or assets which relate to unregulated activities. This means there is no guarantee that cryptoasset customers will receive all or any of their funds or assets back.Recently, the FCA published new rules coming into force on 7 May 2026 to improve safeguarding standards across the payments sector. The Government has also recently laid legislation to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

What discussions she has had with the administrator of Ziglu Bank.

Ziglu Limited is an electronic money institution which has been authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 since September 2020. These regulations require firms to meet important standards before they are allowed to carry out payment services and issue electronic money, and the FCA carries out supervision to ensure that it meets the required standards. Ziglu also provides cryptoasset services and is registered with the FCA for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.On 23 May 2025, the FCA placed restrictions on Ziglu in relation to particular products. On 17 June, Ziglu agreed to stop carrying out both payments and cryptoasset activities while allowing customers to withdraw funds. On 7 July, Ziglu entered special administration and the FCA is engaging with the special administrators as appropriate.Payments and e-money firms are required to safeguard customer funds and segregate these from funds which belong to the firm. The special administrators are working to carry out an assessment of all funds held by Ziglu to establish which are safeguarded for customers, and which belong to Ziglu. However, cryptoasset activities are currently unregulated and Ziglu is not required to safeguard funds or assets which relate to unregulated activities. This means there is no guarantee that cryptoasset customers will receive all or any of their funds or assets back.Recently, the FCA published new rules coming into force on 7 May 2026 to improve safeguarding standards across the payments sector. The Government has also recently laid legislation to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

What support she is providing to individuals who had money invested in Ziglu Bank prior to its closure in June 2025.

Ziglu Limited is an electronic money institution which has been authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 since September 2020. These regulations require firms to meet important standards before they are allowed to carry out payment services and issue electronic money, and the FCA carries out supervision to ensure that it meets the required standards. Ziglu also provides cryptoasset services and is registered with the FCA for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.On 23 May 2025, the FCA placed restrictions on Ziglu in relation to particular products. On 17 June, Ziglu agreed to stop carrying out both payments and cryptoasset activities while allowing customers to withdraw funds. On 7 July, Ziglu entered special administration and the FCA is engaging with the special administrators as appropriate.Payments and e-money firms are required to safeguard customer funds and segregate these from funds which belong to the firm. The special administrators are working to carry out an assessment of all funds held by Ziglu to establish which are safeguarded for customers, and which belong to Ziglu. However, cryptoasset activities are currently unregulated and Ziglu is not required to safeguard funds or assets which relate to unregulated activities. This means there is no guarantee that cryptoasset customers will receive all or any of their funds or assets back.Recently, the FCA published new rules coming into force on 7 May 2026 to improve safeguarding standards across the payments sector. The Government has also recently laid legislation to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

What progress the FCA has made on its investigation into the administration of Ziglu Bank in June 2025.

Ziglu Limited is an electronic money institution which has been authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 since September 2020. These regulations require firms to meet important standards before they are allowed to carry out payment services and issue electronic money, and the FCA carries out supervision to ensure that it meets the required standards. Ziglu also provides cryptoasset services and is registered with the FCA for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.On 23 May 2025, the FCA placed restrictions on Ziglu in relation to particular products. On 17 June, Ziglu agreed to stop carrying out both payments and cryptoasset activities while allowing customers to withdraw funds. On 7 July, Ziglu entered special administration and the FCA is engaging with the special administrators as appropriate.Payments and e-money firms are required to safeguard customer funds and segregate these from funds which belong to the firm. The special administrators are working to carry out an assessment of all funds held by Ziglu to establish which are safeguarded for customers, and which belong to Ziglu. However, cryptoasset activities are currently unregulated and Ziglu is not required to safeguard funds or assets which relate to unregulated activities. This means there is no guarantee that cryptoasset customers will receive all or any of their funds or assets back.Recently, the FCA published new rules coming into force on 7 May 2026 to improve safeguarding standards across the payments sector. The Government has also recently laid legislation to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the FCA's actions in relation to the administration of Ziglu Bank in June 2025.

Ziglu Limited is an electronic money institution which has been authorised under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 since September 2020. These regulations require firms to meet important standards before they are allowed to carry out payment services and issue electronic money, and the FCA carries out supervision to ensure that it meets the required standards. Ziglu also provides cryptoasset services and is registered with the FCA for the purposes of ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.On 23 May 2025, the FCA placed restrictions on Ziglu in relation to particular products. On 17 June, Ziglu agreed to stop carrying out both payments and cryptoasset activities while allowing customers to withdraw funds. On 7 July, Ziglu entered special administration and the FCA is engaging with the special administrators as appropriate.Payments and e-money firms are required to safeguard customer funds and segregate these from funds which belong to the firm. The special administrators are working to carry out an assessment of all funds held by Ziglu to establish which are safeguarded for customers, and which belong to Ziglu. However, cryptoasset activities are currently unregulated and Ziglu is not required to safeguard funds or assets which relate to unregulated activities. This means there is no guarantee that cryptoasset customers will receive all or any of their funds or assets back.Recently, the FCA published new rules coming into force on 7 May 2026 to improve safeguarding standards across the payments sector. The Government has also recently laid legislation to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

If she will provide additional Ofsted funding to increase the frequency of (a) inspections and (b) unannounced inspections of early years settings.

Giving young children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s opportunity mission.From April, the department is funding Ofsted to inspect all new early years providers within 18 months of opening and moving towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. This means standards will be reviewed more regularly and parents will have more up-to-date information to help them choose the right setting for their child.While Ofsted typically provides notice before an inspection, they can and do conduct inspections without prior notification, particularly when concerns have been raised about a setting. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, there were 1,400 unannounced inspections (16%). We recognise the importance of unannounced inspections and they will continue.

Whether she has held recent discussions with (a) sex workers and (b) representative organisations on the law on prostitution.

Criminal justice is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Home Office is responsible for legislation in England and Wales. Under the current law in England and Wales, the acts of buying and selling sex are not in themselves illegal. There are existing offences related to sexual exploitation in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 including causing or inciting prostitution for gain, controlling prostitution for gain, and paying for the services of a prostitute subjected to force, threats or any other form of coercion or deception. On 18 December 2025, the Government published Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-from-violence-and-abuse-a-cross-government-strategy. In this strategy, the Government committed to reviewing how the law addresses prostitution (this includes brothel keeping legislation) to ensure it better protects women and girls. Further details will be set out in due course. The Home Office engages regularly with organisations that represent sex workers, sexually exploited adults, people trafficked for sex, the police and other relevant stakeholders.For example, on 16 July 2025, the Home Office launched a public call for evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, including for victims of sexual exploitation. This call for evidence provided an opportunity to hear views of survivors, first responders, law enforcement and prosecution services, devolved administrations, non-governmental organisations and any groups or people with an interest in the modern slavery victim identification system. The call for evidence closed on 8 October 2025 and a report summarising the key findings and themes will be published early this year.

If she will make it her policy to abolish laws which criminalise brothel keeping.

Criminal justice is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Home Office is responsible for legislation in England and Wales. Under the current law in England and Wales, the acts of buying and selling sex are not in themselves illegal. There are existing offences related to sexual exploitation in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 including causing or inciting prostitution for gain, controlling prostitution for gain, and paying for the services of a prostitute subjected to force, threats or any other form of coercion or deception. On 18 December 2025, the Government published Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-from-violence-and-abuse-a-cross-government-strategy. In this strategy, the Government committed to reviewing how the law addresses prostitution (this includes brothel keeping legislation) to ensure it better protects women and girls. Further details will be set out in due course. The Home Office engages regularly with organisations that represent sex workers, sexually exploited adults, people trafficked for sex, the police and other relevant stakeholders.For example, on 16 July 2025, the Home Office launched a public call for evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, including for victims of sexual exploitation. This call for evidence provided an opportunity to hear views of survivors, first responders, law enforcement and prosecution services, devolved administrations, non-governmental organisations and any groups or people with an interest in the modern slavery victim identification system. The call for evidence closed on 8 October 2025 and a report summarising the key findings and themes will be published early this year.

If her Department will take steps to decriminalise sex work throughout the UK.

Criminal justice is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Home Office is responsible for legislation in England and Wales. Under the current law in England and Wales, the acts of buying and selling sex are not in themselves illegal. There are existing offences related to sexual exploitation in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 including causing or inciting prostitution for gain, controlling prostitution for gain, and paying for the services of a prostitute subjected to force, threats or any other form of coercion or deception. On 18 December 2025, the Government published Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-from-violence-and-abuse-a-cross-government-strategy. In this strategy, the Government committed to reviewing how the law addresses prostitution (this includes brothel keeping legislation) to ensure it better protects women and girls. Further details will be set out in due course. The Home Office engages regularly with organisations that represent sex workers, sexually exploited adults, people trafficked for sex, the police and other relevant stakeholders.For example, on 16 July 2025, the Home Office launched a public call for evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, including for victims of sexual exploitation. This call for evidence provided an opportunity to hear views of survivors, first responders, law enforcement and prosecution services, devolved administrations, non-governmental organisations and any groups or people with an interest in the modern slavery victim identification system. The call for evidence closed on 8 October 2025 and a report summarising the key findings and themes will be published early this year.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding for Ofsted to (a) increase the duration of inspections in early years settings and (b) use CCTV as part of the inspection process.

Giving young children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s opportunity mission. From April, the department is funding Ofsted to inspect all new early years providers within 18 months of opening and move towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. This means standards will be reviewed more regularly and parents will have more up-to-date information to help them choose the right setting for their child. We will continue to work collaboratively with Ofsted as inspection reforms are implemented.The Secretary of State has announced that she will be appointing an expert panel to inform guidance for the sector on the effective and safe use of digital devices and CCTV in relation to safeguarding. The panel will consider the question of whether CCTV should be mandated and will set out best practice, technical information and clear expectations on CCTV and digital device usage.

When she will publish The Schools White Paper covering SEND matters.

To create a reformed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that will stand the test of time, we have undertaken a national engagement campaign on SEND reform, building on extensive engagement over the past year with children, young people, parents and professionals. The upcoming Schools White Paper will outline our proposed SEND reforms and will be followed by a formal consultation and further engagement.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of firefighters in the (a) Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service and (b) Poole area to meet operational demand.

Decisions on how fire and rescue services are run, including the number and locations of fire stations or crewing numbers, are for the local fire and rescue authority (FRA) and its Chief Fire Officer. The FRA is responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met. They are responsible for directing their resources where they are needed most and in accordance with their Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs).The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s latest published statistics on fire and rescue service (FRS) workforce numbers say that while the full time equivalent (FTE) number of firefighters has reduced by 0.5%, the total number of FRS staff (FTE) has increased by 0.6% on the previous year.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service in advance of their station closure consultation.

Decisions on how fire and rescue services are run, including the number and locations of fire stations or crewing numbers, are for the local fire and rescue authority (FRA) and its Chief Fire Officer. The FRA is responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met. They are responsible for directing their resources where they are needed most and in accordance with their Community Risk Management Plans (CRMPs).The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s latest published statistics on fire and rescue service (FRS) workforce numbers say that while the full time equivalent (FTE) number of firefighters has reduced by 0.5%, the total number of FRS staff (FTE) has increased by 0.6% on the previous year.

What discussions have taken place with the Home Office regarding proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers and the impact this could have on the viability of the NHS 10-year workforce plan.

No assessment has been made as to the impact of the proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the National Health Service 10 Year Workforce Plan.The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the current settlement rules in favour of an “earned settlement” model, that considers factors such as contribution, integration, and conduct. The consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, seeks views on how these reforms should apply to different groups, including health and care workers. The consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement

What assessment has been made as to the impact of proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the NHS 10-year workforce plan.

No assessment has been made as to the impact of the proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain for health workers on the viability of the National Health Service 10 Year Workforce Plan.The Government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the current settlement rules in favour of an “earned settlement” model, that considers factors such as contribution, integration, and conduct. The consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, seeks views on how these reforms should apply to different groups, including health and care workers. The consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes for 1950s-born women living in Poole constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.

How many existing NHS workers in Poole constituency could be affected by proposed changes to rules around indefinite leave to remain.

The Department does not hold information on the number of existing National Health Service workers, either nationally or in the Poole constituency, who could be affected by proposed changes to the rules on indefinite leave to remain.