Written questions by Timothy.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to (a) continue and (b) replace the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme after 2025.

The Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme is an EU legacy scheme and legislation is in place which will close it on 31 December 2025. The Government has committed to championing British farming, while protecting the environment, and is currently considering the best way to support our farming sectors in the future, including horticulture.

With reference to page 56 of the King’s Speech Background Briefing Notes, published by the Prime Minister's Office on 17 July 2024, whether she plans to include measures on protest at war memorials in the crime and policing bill.

Yes.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8195 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: HOPE not hate, what meetings (a) special advisors and (b) junior civil servants have had with representatives of Hope Not Hate since the general election.

(a) I refer the honourable member to the answer to Question UIN 8195 on 22 October 2024. (b) I refer the honourable member to the answer to Question UIN 12772 on 15 November 2024.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of granting Sri Lankan Tamils on Diego Garcia the right to come to the UK.

No such right exists, and no such right will be considered. On the specific cases of the migrants who have been located on Diego Garcia since 2022, I refer the Hon. Member to PQ 12545.

Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the Charity Commission on the (a) conflicts of interest and (b) reputational risks of the non-charitable arms of charities engaging in party political campaigning.

Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Commission to discuss matters of mutual interest. Charities are permitted to establish or maintain close connections with non-charitable campaigning organisations to support their charitable purposes, provided this is in the charity’s best interests.The Charity Commission has published guidance for charities with a connection to a non-charity to help charity trustees carefully manage any risks related to conflicts of interest and protect the charity's reputation. Trustees have a legal duty to protect the charity’s assets, reputation, and beneficiaries. Any link with a non-charity should not compromise the charity’s independence or public image. Trustees must also be mindful of the potential risks to the charity’s reputation, particularly regarding political partisanship.If concerns arise that a charity may be acting in a politically partisan manner or outside its charitable objectives, the Charity Commission can investigate and take regulatory action as necessary.

If he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of Chinese-manufactured wind turbines in UK wind farms on (a) national and (b) energy security.

The Department frequently engages with Cabinet colleagues on matters of national and energy security. The Government takes the security and resilience of UK energy infrastructure extremely seriously with the UK being one of the most reliable and safest energy systems, and one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. The Government will take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. The Government will co-operate where it can, compete where it needs to, and challenge where it must.

If he plans to decolonise the artwork or heritage assets in (a) his department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies; and what is the policy of NHS England on this issue.

The Department borrows art from the Government Art Collection and does not own artwork. As separate legal entities, the responsibility for creating policy and guidance for artwork sits with each individual Arm’s Length Body, rather than with the Department. NHS England does not have a national policy on artwork and heritage assets.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

No Ministry of Justice (excluding HMPPS) recognised trade union, or trade union recognised by Ministry of Justice contractors, currently holds a mandate to call industrial action.HMPPS has one industrial dispute. NAPO (National Association of Probation Officers) is in dispute with HMPPS on pay and workload. Industrial action would potentially range from refusal to work overtime to days of strike action. HMPPS is in full pro-active engagement with NAPO to avert this.The intention of HMPPS is to resolve the workload situation through resetting the work of probation with some tasks already removed.On pay, at present, NAPO is content that without prejudice talks for 25/26 will commence in the near future. On workload reduction they are actively engaged in talks with HMPPS.

Whether it is his Department's policy to allow wind turbines manufactured by Chinese companies to be used on new wind farms.

The Government takes the security and resilience of our energy infrastructure extremely seriously with the UK being one of the most reliable and safest energy systems, and one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. The Government will take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. The Government will co-operate where it can, compete where it needs to, and challenge where it must.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

No recognised trade union is currently in dispute with, or holds a mandate to call industrial action in, the Department or its Arm’s Length Bodies and executive agencies.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

DESNZ and two of its 17 Agencies and Public Bodies (Ofgem and the Committee on Climate Change) are currently in a national trade dispute with PCS on pay, pensions, and jobs. PCS has not taken any action in relation to this dispute and DESNZ is working to resolve the dispute through its ongoing engagement with PCS, and via the annual pay discussions. Contractors supplying services to the Department are not employees of DESNZ. Any dispute relating to contractors is a matter for the unions involved and the employer of said contractors.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department, (b) HMRC, (c) the Valuation Office Agency and (d) each of the other arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

(a) No recognised trade union currently holds a mandate to call industrial action in HM Treasury. (b) PCS are in a formal trade dispute with HMRC and have issued a formal notice of their intention to ballot 238 members in the Benton Park View Office in Newcastle. How many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute;238 AA and AO Grade PCS members will be balloted for strike action. The ballot opens 18 November and closes at noon 9 December. No contractors are involved in the dispute. What the form of industrial action is in each dispute; Members are being balloted for strike action Which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute;PCS What the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps to be taken to end each dispute:The dispute relates to the dismissal of 3 trade union representatives from Benton Park View office and PCS’s request for reinstatement of those dismissed. HMRC’s established guidance and procedures for dealing with issues of misconduct have been followed in relation to these cases and HMRC has held colleagues to the same standards of conduct we expect from all HMRC employees. There are specific formal and legal routes for the dismissed employees to seek redress if they believe that their employment rights have been infringed. All three cases have ongoing Employment Tribunal claims. (c) VOA - no industrial disputes to report (d) In relation to HM Treasury arm’s length bodies please see below responses: UK Debt Management Office – no industrial disputes to report National Infrastructure Commission– no industrial disputes to report UK Government Investments - no industrial disputes to report Office for Budget Responsibility - no industrial disputes to report Government Internal Audit Agency - no industrial disputes to report

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's policy is on the renaming of street signs to remove colonial or imperialist references; and what guidance her Department issues local authorities on the rights of local residents to approve or veto such changes.

Changes to street names are a local matter. Section 81 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 replaced the previously inconsistent arrangements for the renaming of streets. It enables local authorities to make changes to street names if they determine they command ‘sufficient local support’ and sets an expectation of local engagement prior to any change. At present the Government does not consider there is a need for further guidance to support Local Authorities in doing so. The Government intends to monitor the operation of these arrangements.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and its Arm’s Length Bodies collectively comprises of 9,921 FTE (as of March 2024). There are currently no ongoing industrial disputes with DBT employees within DBT or any of its Arm’s Length Bodies.There are, however, ongoing disputes between PCS and G4S Security Company (G4S) and International Services System - Facilities Management Services (ISS) who provide facilities management services at some DBT offices and who are contracted by Government Property Agency. These staff are employees of either G4S or ISS, they are not normally employees of the department itself.

Communities and Local Government, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) her Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to her Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps she plans to take to end each dispute.

The Public and Commercial Services trade union (PCS) had a mandate to call strike action between May and November 2024, PCS having notified the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of a dispute over pay, pensions and jobs. That mandate expired with effect from 13 November 2024, no action has followed, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not been notified of a further ballot.Further to the outcome of a ballot in December, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) members at HM Land Registry (HMLR) commenced Action Short of a Strike indefinitely on 21 January 2025. PCS has approximately 3,800 members in HMLR, out of a total headcount of approximately 7,000. The action consists of ‘’Work to rule, whereby members will not work longer than their contracted hours and will carry out only the work required by their contract’’. The action is in relation to a Trade Dispute regarding the issues of office attendance, use of individual performance data in performance management, and casework classification.HMLR is confident it will be able to manage its essential services effectively during this period of Action Short of a Strike, as it has done during previous disputes.

Pursuant to the answer of 30 October 2024, to Question 10945, on Home Office: HOPE not hate, what meetings officials who are not classified as senior officials for the purposes of quarterly transparency returns have had with representatives of Hope Not Hate since the general election.

No meetings have occurred between Home Office officials and Hope Not Hate since the General Election although officials may have attended wider stakeholder forums where Hope Not Hate have been present.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of training for GPs to (a) diagnose and (b) treat women experiencing the menopause.

The curricula for postgraduate medical specialty training is set by individual Royal Colleges and faculties. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) sets the curriculum that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and to work independently as a GP. The curriculum includes a specific section on women’s health, including the menopause. As a result, the menopause is a core area of knowledge for all qualified GPs.

When she plans to implement Section 14 of the Finance Act 2024.

Section 14 of the Finance Act 2024 came into force on 6 April 2024.Subsequent clarificatory regulations have been laid and come into force from 18 November, taking retrospective effect from 6 April 2024.

What criteria the Prevent programme uses to (a) identify and (b) define subcategories of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism.

Prevent uses the definition of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism as set out inCONTEST 2023. This describes those involved in Extreme Right-Wing activity who use violence in furtherance of their ideology. These ideologies can be broadly characterised as Cultural Nationalism, White Nationalism and White Supremacism. Individuals and groups may subscribe to ideological trends and ideas from more than one category. When assessing referrals to Prevent, specialist police officers and staff determinewhether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is at risk of radicalisation. According to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 S36(3) “A chief officer of police may refer an individual to a panel only if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism” The definition used by Prevent is available at the following link: Microsoft Word - English Standard_CONTEST 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Women should not have to suffer in silence and any woman concerned about menopause symptoms should seek advice from their general practitioner or other healthcare professional, who can advise about treatment options, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. There have been issues with the supply of a limited number of HRT products, primarily due to very sharp increases in demand, but the supply position for the majority has improved considerably over the last year.More than 500,000 people benefitted from accessing cheaper HRT prescriptions during its first year of operation. The HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) can represent significant savings for patients who are prescribed one of the listed HRT medications. For example, a patient who pays the prescription charge could save nearly £220 per year with an HRT PPC, if they were prescribed two listed HRT items per month.