Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

With reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, what estimate her Department has made of how many retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in Poole will benefit from lower business rates.

The Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including around 104,600 in the South West of England.

What steps the Government is taking to reduce inflation in the prices of food.

The Government has announced a Food Inflation Gateway to assess and monitor regulation that could add to food prices. This will improve coordination and give food businesses a clear line of sight on upcoming regulatory changes, helping to keep costs downThe Government is also negotiating an agri-food agreement with the EU to reduce trade frictions, which is expected to save businesses up to £200 per fresh food shipment, helping to limit cost pressures across supply chains.In addition, supermarkets will see a reduction in their total business rates bills in 2026/27 compared with 2025/26, and this will be kept under review at the next revaluation. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) does not expect changes in business rates to have a material impact on food inflation.Overall, the OBR’s forecast shows government policy will reduce CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2026/27. This is the biggest near-term reduction in inflation due to government policy ever forecast by the OBR at a single fiscal event, outside of a crisis.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, how many of the Government's planned 1.5 million homes will be built in Poole constituency by the end of the Parliament.

My Department does not forecast housing delivery for individual local planning authorities. Indicative local housing need figures can be found on gov.uk here.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that reforms to the visa system help ensure that UK business can employ talented international workers.

The Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.  This approach will be important to enabling delivery of the Government’s broader agenda. Employers can continue to recruit workers for occupations at RQF level 6 and on the Temporary Shortage List but they will need to meet the current requirements of the Skilled Worker route.

With reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of how many workers in the Poole constituency will benefit from the planned increase in (a) the National Living Wage and (b) the National Minimum Wage.

Around 2.4 million workers are expected to receive a pay rise due to the increase to the NLW on 1 April 2026. In total, around 2.7 million workers are expected to receive a pay rise due to increases to the NMW and NLW on April 2026.The Government will publish an impact assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates early next year. This will include a breakdown of the number of workers expected to benefit by region; however, constituency-level estimates will not be provided due to greater data reliability issues at this granularity.

With reference to the Budget 2025, what measures his Department will take to reduce error and fraud in the welfare system by £4.6 billion by 2030-31.

Since Autumn Budget 2024, including the new announcements at Autumn Budget 2025, the Government has committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in GB. These activities include:introducing regular requests for Universal Credit claimants to confirm whether any of their circumstances have changed, £1.2bnimprovements to the verification of self-employment income and expenses and of capital in claimants’ bank accounts to prevent fraud and error entering the Universal Credit benefit system, £0.9bninvestment to deploy up to 3,000 additional staff and strengthen our data, analytics and investigative capability, £3.0bncontinuing Targeted Case Reviews to check accuracy of Universal Credit claims at risk of being incorrect, £6.6bn including £1.2bn in Autumn Budget 25. Since its inception, TCR has committed to delivering £17.3 billion AME savings by March 2031.providing additional resource to action data alerts to detect and correct under- and over-payments, £0.2bnintroducing legislation to require banks and other financial institutions to share data with DWP to help identify any potential overpayments, £1.2bnintroducing legislation to allow DWP to recover debts from those no longer on benefit or in PAYE employment, £0.9bn (PSNCR - Public Sector Net Cash Requirement)introducing reviews of Pension Credit claims that are at risk of being incorrect, starting from 2026 and ending in 2029, £0.5bn. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28th November to question 92800, what information the best practice guide for furniture will provide to tenants about how they can access support with furniture and appliances; and what assessments will the department take to ensure that the advice provided is effective at tackling the scale of furniture poverty.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.

How many households will be affected by the lifting of the two child benefit cap.

The requested information is published in ‘Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit’ (page 66-67) and is available at EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility.

What assessment has been done as to the number of households that are affected by the overall benefit cap, rather than the two child limit.

Benefit Cap statistics are regularly published, the latest publication is available here: Benefit cap: number of households capped to May 2025 - GOV.UK The latest two child limit statistics are published here: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 28th November to question 92800, whether the best practice guide for furniture provision for all landlords will make specific recommendations to furnished tenancy schemes as a cost effective method of delivery; and if her Department will consult with expert organisations to ensure this guide is best equipped to support those in need.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.

Whether she plans to remove the VAT exemption for vehicles adapted for use by disabled people.

The government has no plans to remove the VAT relief for vehicles designed for, or substantially and permanently adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users. At Budget 2025 the government announced tax changes to the Motability scheme. These changes will only impact new leases, and VAT reliefs within the scheme for weekly lease costs and vehicle resale will remain in place.

What assessment he has made of the potential financial impact of the proposed (a) application of VAT on payments for higher value vehicles and (b) removal of the Insurance Premium Tax exemption for vehicles that are not substantially and permanently adapted for wheelchair or stretcher users, or originally designed for their use on Motability scheme users; and what steps his Department is taking to support disabled people who will be affected by these changes.

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms. Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles. Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

With reference to the Budget Statement on 26 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of how many 16-24 year olds in Poole constituency will have access to the Youth Guarantee and the right to earn or learn.

The Government understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. In Poole, Jobcentre teams already work closely with the Local Authority, employers, local colleges and training providers to give opportunities for young people to learn and earn. To support this, the Jobcentre offers various a range of local provisions, including Sector Based Work Academy Programmes, Mentoring Circles and Group Information Sessions, covering CV writing, application completion and job search upskilling. These initiatives help young people develop skills they need to enter employment. Our Employment and Partnership Team also hosts and attends job fairs, runs job and apprenticeship matching sessions and engages directly with employers to bring vacancies closer to young people. In addition, we have dedicated Youth Employment Coaches who provide personalised, tailored support to the most vulnerable young people.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 £820m for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million to help support apprenticeships for young people, including a change to fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people aged under 25. This investment will also fund an £140 million pilot of new approaches to better connect young people aged 16-24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.These are important steps in the government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, which will also be supported by expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people.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.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.

If he will publish the total amount of national insurance contributions made by recipients of Contributory Employment Support Allowance.

Entitlement to contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is based on a claimant’s National Insurance (NI) contribution record. Aggregating each ESA claimant’s NI contributions would require detailed analysis of individual claimants’ administrative records across both DWP and HMRC and would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment the Government has made of the potential impact on levels of poverty of the proposed merger of contributory Employment and Support Allowance into Universal Credit health-related payments.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced that we would be establishing a new, simple and clear Unemployment Insurance benefit through the reform of contributory working age benefits. Following recent consultation, officials are considering the responses and developing the policy for this new benefit, including the duration of entitlement.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Motability on access to cars with (a) reversing cameras, (b) driver assist technologies and (c) other safety features.

The Motability Scheme will continue to offer a choice of vehicles, including models with reversing cameras, driver assist technologies and other safety features, to meet a range of accessibility needs. The changes announced at the budget will not apply to current leases or wheelchair adapted vehicles, and the Scheme will continue to offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Motability Operations, an independent commercial company which delivers the Scheme, will continue to prioritise customer needs, ensuring vehicles remain affordable and that support for specialist adaptations remain at the heart of the Scheme. Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford specialist adaptations for a vehicle leased through the Scheme.

With reference to the report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation entitled Guarantee our Essentials: reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard time, published on 4 March 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an essentials guarantee for welfare recipients.

A Universal Credit award is made up of a standard allowance rate to provide towards basic living costs, paid according to age and household unit. Additional amounts are added to provide for individual needs such as housing, disability, and childcare costs. We’ve taken important steps to support people with their living costs. The Universal Credit Act legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the standard allowance for all claimants. This will benefit around 4 million households and is estimated to be worth around £760 annually in cash terms by 2029/30 for a single household aged 25 or over (£250 above inflation) or over £1195 (£400 above inflation) for a couple where one is aged 25 or over with children by 2029/30. We will also be uprating most working age benefits, across Great Britain in 2026/27, subject to parliamentary approval, in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2025 – an increase of 3.8%. The Government is also taking action to reduce child poverty through the removal of the two child limit. Removing the two child limit is the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty over this Parliament and estimated to alone lift 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of making advance payments for a qualifying vehicle under the Motability Scheme taxable at the standard rate of VAT on access to (a) employment (b) education (c) health appointments from July 2026.

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms. Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles. Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of applying Insurance Premium Tax to certain vehicles under the Motability Scheme from 1 July 2026 to levels of (a) poverty and (b) financial hardship among people with disabilities.

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms. Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles. Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of making advance payments for a qualifying vehicle under the Motability Scheme taxable at the standard rate of VAT on the level of (a) poverty and (b) financial hardship for people with disabilities.

The package of reforms to the Motability Scheme announced as part of the Budget will ensure the Scheme delivers fairness for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people. The Scheme will continue to offer a choice of affordable vehicles to meet a range of accessibility needs and offer vehicles which require no advance payment, meaning that people will be able to access a suitable vehicle using only their qualifying disability benefit. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will apply to leases at the standard rate, bringing tax treatment in line with commercial leasing firms. Existing leases and vehicles substantially designed for, or adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users will continue to benefit from VAT reliefs on advance payments and the IPT exemption, in recognition of the additional costs associated with these vehicles. Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, will continue to offer means-tested grants to support eligible people who would otherwise struggle to afford the advance payment.