Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Whether Transitional Relief for pubs only applies to the portion of increase directly attributable to Rateable Value change after the effect of new multipliers.

The Government is introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. To sustainably fund these lower RHL multipliers, the Government is also introducing a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. To protect businesses from large bill increases at the 2026 revaluation the government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill. For properties losing their RHL relief, the caps apply to their current bill, including the 40% relief, before changes in other reliefs and local supplements. This means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without this support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support the Government has put in place this falls to just 4%.

Innovation and Technology, if her Department will convene a cross-government summit with key tech companies and trade unions to discuss the future impact of AI and ASI on jobs, the economy and society.

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes.The Government routinely brings together departments, industry, academics, and trade unions to discuss AI’s impact on the labour market and wider economy—including DSIT‑hosted roundtables – to inform Government’s approach to policy and analysis.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department has taken to identify sectors of the economy in which AI should not replace human productivity or experience.

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes. This includes identifying the contexts in which AI will complement and augment human activity—helping people work more efficiently.Furthermore, to ensure that AI benefits everyone, the UK is investing in responsible AI to boost productivity, improve public services, advance healthcare innovation, and drive economic growth. AI Growth Zones, and expanded compute will support workers and industry, ensuring AI adoption strengthens national renewal and broadens opportunity.

Whether there are any plans to ensure that future funding formulas for the police take account of (a) seasonality and (b) rurality.

This Government is committed to ensuring that policing has the resources it needs and the allocation of funding to police forces remains an important consideration.The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years. As with previous years, decisions on police force funding allocations for 2026-27, including the police main grant, will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of centralising SEND funding on the needs of individual children.

The department is not planning to centralise special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding.The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps in the new year and are keeping under review the funding arrangements to help ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive for children with SEND. It is important that we establish a fair school funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.

What steps she is taking to ensure that any reforms to SEND will not change the provision for existing enforceable rights under the Children and Families Act 2014.

The department is committed to restoring confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) so that they all get the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive in their education. There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND. Any statutory framework is for Parliament to decide on, and any legislative changes will be considered if necessary.

Whether she is taking steps to ensure that people affected by interest rate hedging products are compensated.

The Government recognises the impact that the historic mis‑selling of interest rate hedging products (IRHPs) has had on many SMEs, and we acknowledge the distress this caused.Responsibility for regulating the sale of these products, and for ensuring appropriate redress, rests with the independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA required the major banks to carry out a comprehensive review of past IRHP sales. This led to around 14,000 businesses receiving a total of £2.2 billion in redress.The Government believes this industry‑wide redress scheme broadly met its objectives in delivering compensation to businesses that were mis‑sold these products. The Government has always been clear that mis‑selling of financial products is completely unacceptable. That is why we supported both the FCA’s redress scheme and its decision to commission an independent ‘lessons‑learned’ review of its supervisory interventions in relation to IRHPs. The FCA accepted the majority of the recommendations from that review, and, in light of the review’s findings, it also carefully considered whether further steps should be taken to facilitate access to redress for customers who had initially been excluded.More generally, the Government continues to keep the financial services regulatory framework under review, working closely with the FCA to help ensure that consumers and businesses are protected and have clear, effective routes to compensation where misconduct occurs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received from the Greyhound Board of Great Britain on amending the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010.

The Department has not had any recent discussions with, or representations from, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain about amending the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to give the public a right of responsible access to all rivers in England.

The Government recognises the importance of access to nature for people’s health and well-being. There is already public access to regulated rivers owned and managed by navigation authorities, available through their licensing regimes. We are considering our approach to improving access to unregulated rivers and are committed to working with stakeholders as this develops.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Greyhound Board of Great Britain on amending the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 to include dog nose prints as an means of identifying racing greyhounds.

The Department has not had any recent discussions with, or representations from, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain about amending the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010.

What assessment has been made of the potential merits of requiring cyclists to wear a high visibility jacket when riding on the road.

Rule 59 of The Highway Code recommends cyclists should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing to help other road users to see them in daylight and poor light, with reflective clothing and/or accessories in the dark. The Department considered making Rule 59 a requirement, rather than a recommendation as part of a comprehensive cycling and walking safety review in 2018. This concluded that the cost of introducing such a system would far outweigh the benefits. Restricting people’s ability to cycle in this way would mean that many would likely choose other modes of transport instead, with negative impacts for congestion, pollution and health.

What steps his department is taking to prevent people from dying in fuel poverty.

Tackling fuel poverty is a priority for this Government. We will be publishing a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel poor households are protected by 2030, in parallel to the Warm Homes Plan. In March the Government allocated around £1.8 billion to local authorities and social housing providers to support low-income households through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. This funding will support 170,000 households to get energy saving upgrades, helping families stay warm and cut bills. In addition, the Chancellor has announced a further £1.5 billion to support upgrades for low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. The details of this will be set out soon in the Warm Homes Plan. Financial support is available to eligible low-income households across Great Britain through the Warm Home Discount which has been expanded for this winter increasing the total number of households that are estimated to receive the discount from 3.2 million to around 6 million. DESNZ is working with other government departments to drive better availability and sharing of data to enable us in the future to more effectively target support to those who need help with their energy bills.

Whether his department has made an assessment of the causes and impact of financial insecurity for people at the end of life.

This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it including for those nearing the end of their life. For these claimants, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

What steps his department is taking to prevent people from dying in poverty.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 December 2025 to Question UIN 96586.

What estimate he has made of the number of young people on universal credit in Poole constituency who have been looking for work for 18 months who will benefit from the government’s planned job guarantee.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy.Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.Guaranteeing jobs: For long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment. This will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years. We know young people need support quickly and that is why we will begin delivery of the Jobs Guarantee in six areas from spring 2026 in: Birmingham & Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire & Essex, Central & East Scotland, Southwest & Southeast Wales. We will deliver over 1,000 job starts in the first six months. This will be followed by national roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain.Prevention: We are also making it easier to identify young people who need support, by investing in better data sharing for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), further education attendance monitoring, and new risk of NEET data tools giving local areas more accurate insights to target support where it's needed most. We are also investing in work experience opportunities for young people at particular risk of becoming NEET, focused on pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings, (education provided outside mainstream or special schools for children who cannot attend a regular school, often due to exclusion, health needs, or other circumstances). This builds on measures announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper earlier this autumn. The Growth and Skills Levy’s £725 million investment will deliver more apprenticeships for young people and help match skills training with local job opportunities. Young people will benefit from:increased access to training with full cost of apprenticeships at SMEs covered by Government.A new wave of foundation apprenticeships in sectors such as retail and hospitality sectors to get young people into work.Thousands more apprenticeship starts through a £140 million partnership with local leaders. 50,000 young people across the country will be better equipped for jobs of the future through a major investment to create more apprenticeships and training courses. As this programme is across Great Britian, my honourable friend will be assured that it will have an effect on his constituency. Specifically in Poole, we also have a project supporting Youth Skills and Careers Builders, delivering through DWP and local organisations. Young people can also access the local Wellbeing Hub.

How many training and workplace opportunities will be offered to young people in Poole constituency.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy.Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.Guaranteeing jobs: For long-term unemployed 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit, the Jobs Guarantee scheme will provide six months of paid employment. This will reach around 55,000 young people over the next three years. We know young people need support quickly and that is why we will begin delivery of the Jobs Guarantee in six areas from spring 2026 in: Birmingham & Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire & Essex, Central & East Scotland, Southwest & Southeast Wales. We will deliver over 1,000 job starts in the first six months. This will be followed by national roll-out of the Jobs Guarantee across Great Britain.Prevention: We are also making it easier to identify young people who need support, by investing in better data sharing for those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), further education attendance monitoring, and new risk of NEET data tools giving local areas more accurate insights to target support where it's needed most. We are also investing in work experience opportunities for young people at particular risk of becoming NEET, focused on pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings, (education provided outside mainstream or special schools for children who cannot attend a regular school, often due to exclusion, health needs, or other circumstances). This builds on measures announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper earlier this autumn. The Growth and Skills Levy’s £725 million investment will deliver more apprenticeships for young people and help match skills training with local job opportunities. Young people will benefit from:increased access to training with full cost of apprenticeships at SMEs covered by Government.A new wave of foundation apprenticeships in sectors such as retail and hospitality sectors to get young people into work.Thousands more apprenticeship starts through a £140 million partnership with local leaders. 50,000 young people across the country will be better equipped for jobs of the future through a major investment to create more apprenticeships and training courses. As this programme is across Great Britian, my honourable friend will be assured that it will have an effect on his constituency. Specifically in Poole, we also have a project supporting Youth Skills and Careers Builders, delivering through DWP and local organisations. Young people can also access the local Wellbeing Hub.

What support will be offered to disabled young people not currently in education, employment or training.

Pathways to Work is a guaranteed offer of tailored work, health and skills support for all disabled people, including young people, and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We are rolling out our new support offer, backed by new funding building to £1bn a year by the end of the decade, with much of our plan already in motion. There are now over 1,000 FTE Pathways to Work Advisors in Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales who are helping disabled people and people with health conditions towards and into work. We are also testing how best to deliver and integrate work, health and skills support locally – including through Mayoral Strategic Authorities with 9 Economic Inactivity and 8 Youth Guarantee Trailblazers live across England and Wales. We are delivering the NHS 10 Year Plan, and have introduced WorkWell in 15 sites across England, testing a new way to integrate health and work support.We are also expanding our support for all young people, by expanding Youth Hubs to every local area across Great Britian. These Hubs will provide comprehensive support, such as mental health, housing, skills training, and employer engagement, to all 16-24 year olds, regardless of their benefit status. Finally, we are considering how we might go even further. The Right Honourable Alan Milburn will lead an investigation into the rise in young people not in employment, education, or training, with findings to be published by Summer 2026. The report launched its formal call for evidence this week, on 16 December, and will remain open until 30 January.

Whether she plans to withdraw, revise, or replace Circular 1/94 Religious Education and Collective Worship, in the context of the Supreme Court’s ruling in JR87 2025 UKSC 40.

The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of replacing the statutory requirement for daily Christian collective worship in schools without a religious character in England with non-confessional assemblies in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling in JR87 2025 UKSC 40.

The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.

If she will publish the details of the review the Department is undertaking regarding assistive technologies for disabled students provided through the Disabled Students’ Allowances grant.

The department keeps all support funded through Disabled Students’ Allowance under regular review to ensure that it continues to meets the needs of disabled students. Any future proposals will be communicated publicly.