Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

If she will ensure that any future review of the bus fare cap will take account of (a) young people and (b) low paid workers.

On Monday 28 October, the Prime Minister confirmed the government will introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares from 1 January 2025 until the end of 2025. Moving forward, the government will also explore more targeted options that deliver value for money to the taxpayer, to ensure affordable bus travel is always available for the groups who need it the most - such as young people.

What her Department's policy is on the future of the SEND Change Programme.

Change Programme Partnerships (CPP) have provided valuable insights and learning across the special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision system. This includes informing government’s thinking about effective, inclusive, mainstream practice. The Change Programme will continue to work with the CPP to test, learn and promote effective inclusive practice. This will include understanding what works and why, to make the proposed changes work until the end March 2025. Decisions around the future of the programme will be made in due course.

With reference to paragraph 5.99 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, if he will publish a list of organisations that will be consulted over guest beers; and whether the Campaign for Pubs will be consulted.

The Government will consult a range of organisations across the brewing and hospitality sectors on market access for local brewers and will give all those with an interest an opportunity to give their views.

What steps she is taking to provide financial support to local authorities for SEND provision after March 2026.

Funding for special educational needs and disabilities provision beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next stage of the government's spending review, in spring 2025.

What assessment she has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of children with Special Educational Needs.

Over the last ten years, there has been an international increase in children identified with special educational needs (SEN). Between 2016/17 and 2021/22, England saw a 40% increase in pupils with an official SEN designation. For France it was 49% and for Germany 19%, according to the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Further information is available here: https://www.european-agency.org/activities/data/cross-country-reports.Definitions and systems vary considerably between countries, but overall, international studies suggest this increase is driven by a combination of better understanding and diagnosis of need, as well as social and medical factors. Over the same period, there was also a steeper rise in England in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that attract a statutory plan compared to other similar countries. This started after the 2014 reforms and has been driven by more use of statutory plans for some types of need. Social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs and autistic spectrum disorder make up 88% of the total increase seen in education, health and care (EHC) plans since 2014.Examples of the factors behind rises in needs are a greater awareness and understanding of conditions within families, the medical profession and schools, a cultural shift towards greater acceptance and support for those with SEN, and advancing parental age and increases in pre-term birth survival.Between and within local areas, there is significant variation in the identification of SEND. In 2021, the Education Policy Institute published a paper examining the factors that predicted the probability of a child being identified for SEND support or an EHC plan. The research found that which school a child attends makes more difference to their chances of being identified with SEND than anything about them as an individual, their experiences or what local authority they live in. This paper can be accessed at: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/identifying-send/.The government is carrying out a programme of work as part of a SEND and alternative provision data strategy to ensure we take stock of our system health indicators and data flows, as well as the regular data and insights needed as we embark on a programme of reform. This work will be an integral part of programme governance going forward.

Whether her Department plans to review the customer relations services of the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continually reviews the service it provides to ensure it best meets the needs of its customers. The aim of CMS is to create a modern, accessible service through our digital transformation and Service Modernisation programmes, allowing customers to have greater choice of how and when they contact us. CMS regularly gathers feedback from customers through the Customer Experience Survey to understand their experiences. This insight is then used to inform ways to review and improve our service.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making locksmithing a regulated profession to tackle rogue traders.

The UK’s framework for occupational regulation upholds public protection, while ensuring regulatory burdens on industry are proportionate. Although the locksmithing profession is not subject to statutory regulation, several self-regulating trade associations and accreditation schemes exist within the industry. The government keeps the occupational regulatory regime under review to respond to industry and public needs.

Innovation and Technology, what his policy is on the future of the Digital Growth Grant after April 2025.

The DSIT settlement of £15.1 billion in 2025/26 announced at the October Budget provides the investment required to further the UK’s science and technology ambitions. DSIT is undertaking an internal allocations process to set 2025/26 budgets but until then, we cannot confirm future funding decisions. Programmes such as the SEIS/EIS schemes, R&D Tax Credits and various visa routes demonstrate the UK’s commitment to supporting tech companies in thriving in the UK. DSIT further continues to unlock investment in the tech sector, through the British Growth Partnership, the National Wealth Fund and the Pensions Review.

What assessment he has made of the potential risks associated with aggregating NHS performance data; and what steps he is taking to provide transparent data on an individual hospital level for emergency departments.

NHS England is publishing more data about patient care in hospital emergency departments than ever before. Performance data is published at an organisational level, so that it is appropriately aligned with accountability.The Government will continue to consider how to increase the transparency of National Health Service data as part of future reforms.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require landlords and managing agents to pay automatic compensation to tenants when overcharging occurs.

Since 2014, all letting and managing agents in England have been required by law to be members of one of two mandatory agent redress schemes. These schemes already have statutory powers to require agents to pay compensation in circumstances where their actions or behaviours fall short of a fair and reasonable standard. These services are independent and free for tenants to use.Through provisions in the Renters’ Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, the government will establish a new Private Landlord Ombudsman Service. This will similarly empower tenants to seek redress – including compensation – in relation to their landlord’s behaviour or actions.

If she will amend regulations on school meals so that there is no obligation to serve animal-derived foods.

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.Under the School Food Standards, meat must be served on three or more days each week and a portion of oily fish once every three weeks. Beyond this, the department believes that head teachers, school governors and caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies, considering local circumstances and the needs of their pupils.  As such, notwithstanding the requirements around meat and oily fish, schools may provide a meal with any other type of protein every day if they choose to.  Although schools are required to make milk available, the School Food Standards also enable schools to provide a variety of other drinks including plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium and combination and flavoured variations of these drinks, to suit particular medical, dietary and cultural needs.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to cap service charge rises annually at the rate of CPI inflation.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 7465 on 15 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to extend to ten years the time limits for tenants and residents to request invoices and receipts in relation to service charges.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 7465 on 15 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help strengthen communities after the riots in August 2024.

The Government has made £15 million available to the places most severely affected by disorder through the Community Recovery Fund to support the immediate recovery. Officials from my department have also carried out an extensive engagement process with these places to understand and address the underlying causes of the unrest.The disorder that affected communities across the UK following the Southport tragedy this summer has made clear that a new approach to community cohesion is urgently needed. This is a priority for the Government and I have stood up a cross-government Communities & Recovery Steering Group to oversee this work.We are listening to communities across the country to understand the challenges they face and this will inform how this government works to empower communities and build greater cohesion.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require (a) all service charge accounts to be audited every year by independent accountants and (b) that the cost of this audit cannot be passed onto residents through service charges.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 7465 on 15 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to pay automatic compensation to all tenants when landlords and managing agents are slow to reimburse tenants after overcharging.

Since 2014, all letting and managing agents in England have been required by law to be members of one of two mandatory agent redress schemes. These schemes already have statutory powers to require agents to pay compensation in circumstances where their actions or behaviours fall short of a fair and reasonable standard. These services are independent and free for tenants to use.Through provisions in the Renters’ Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, the government will establish a new Private Landlord Ombudsman Service. This will similarly empower tenants to seek redress – including compensation – in relation to their landlord’s behaviour or actions.

How many workers are included in auto enrolled pensions.

Automatic enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension saving with over 11 million employees having been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension since 2012. These statistics are available from The Pensions Regulator and are updated on a monthly basis in their Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance report.The department’s regular publication of data, including the Workplace Pension Participation and Savings Trends, is available on GOV.UK. This publication includes a wide range of data on pension participation. Overall, 80% (22.3m) of employees in Great Britain are benefiting from participating in a workplace pension as of 2023. Considering only employees eligible for automatic enrolment, 88% (20.7m) of employees are participating.

What the average pension paid for members of auto enrolled schemes is.

The data requested for the average pension paid to members of automatic enrolment schemes is not available. The department publishes the Pensioners’ Income Series. This provides estimates on the level and source of pensioners’ incomes, including income from occupational pensions (this is a wider definition than automatic enrolment schemes). In the 2022/23 financial year, 62% of pensioner benefit units were in receipt of occupational pension income. Of the pensioner benefit units receiving this income, the median amount received was £210 per week and the mean amount received was £314 per week, with 6% of pensioner benefit units receiving £900 or more per week.

Whether the Children's Hospital Grant will be (a) centrally distributed, (b) ringfenced and (c) take account of the recent proposed increase in employers National Insurance contributions.

2023/24 was the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant. In 2024/25, however, NHS England provided £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of funding from 2023/24.For the first time, however, this funding was transacted by integrated care boards (ICBs), on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before. I am aware that the shift to dissemination via ICBs for 2024/25 has not been as smooth a transition as I would have hoped, and the Department and NHS England are learning the lessons from that experience.We do understand that, financially, times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including children’s hospices, due to a range of concurrent cost pressures.I met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the chairs of the Children Who Need Palliative Care All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss children’s palliative and end of life care, and this funding stream was discussed at length at that meeting. We are working very closely with NHS England to get the funding arrangements for 2025/26 confirmed as a matter of urgency.On the increase in employer National Insurance contributions, we have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at Autumn Budget 2024, which enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented in April 2025. We will set out further plans in due course, including through NHS Planning Guidance.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consider the potential merits of launching a pilot project in Poole to recover (a) stranded and (b) sunken glass fibre boats to help ensure that they do not pollute local waters.

Sunken or stranded boats within Poole Harbour, and pollution arising from them, fall within the responsibility of the Poole Harbour Master’s Office. We encourage the public to report pollution via our incident hotline, by calling 0800 80 70 60 at any time. The UK is leading action under the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter to improve the management of end-of-life recreational vessels. This includes work with contracting parties: to develop a methodology to estimate the quantity, distribution and material composition of these vessels; to collate an inventory of end-of-life vessels; and to develop guidance to support their waste management. The OSPAR Convention is the Regional Seas Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic and, as a Contracting Party, the UK participates in monitoring programmes to assess regional trends in marine litter and implements actions under the Regional Action Plan. The UK also commissioned Resource Futures to undertake research to inform policy development to discourage abandonment and improve waste management of end-of-life recreational vessels, focused on establishing volume, location and type of materials in the waste stream and understanding current disposal options and barriers in the UK and across the OSPAR Maritime Area. This research is published online: Marine litter from end of life recreational vessels - ME5247.