Written questions by Moon.

Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to help increase the (a) production and (b) programming of Cornish language content.

The Government wants broadcasters to commission content in every part of the country and for British storytelling to reflect the full diversity of people, communities and experiences across the UK so that more people can see themselves reflected on screen and as part of our national story.The Media Act makes clear in legislation the importance of the UK's indigenous regional and minority languages - including Cornish - by including their provision in the public service remit for television.The BBC additionally has an obligation to reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all the UK’s nations and regions, set out in its current Royal Charter.The forthcoming Charter Review is a key opportunity to set the BBC up for success long into the future. It will look at a range of issues and, as a priority for this Government, will start a national conversation to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-allocating a proportion of the National Wealth Fund for a new mineral exploration fund.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is a publicly owned investor which provides a range of financing tools across the capital structure, including loans, guarantees and equity investments for projects which align with its mandate.The NWF’s investment decisions are based on the Investment Principles set out in its Framework Document. Investments from the NWF focus on areas where an undersupply of private finance exists. It targets opportunities to crowd-in three times as much private capital as its own investment committed across its portfolio. Allocating grants is not within the remit of the NWF.Earmarking investment amounts for certain sectors is not within the remit of the NWF either. Maintaining a broad balance sheet, allows the NWF to remain flexible and adapt to market requirements.The critical minerals sector is a key market for the NWF, as seen with its equity investments in Cornish Lithium, and in Cornish Metals.

Whether her Department plans to amend the chemical classification assessments for (a) lithium carbonate, (b) lithium hydroxide, and (c) lithium chloride products.

These three lithium substances (lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and lithium chloride) do not currently have mandatory classification and labelling in Great Britain (GB). Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specialists are considering the need to evaluate the available data using the Article 37A process under the GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation following publication of the Agency Opinion by HSE in August 2023 to determine whether mandatory classification and labelling is warranted.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the classifications of waste to help ensure that critical minerals in (a) used batteries and (b) other e-waste are used as (i) feedstock for connected and automated mobility research and development and (ii) other (A) recycling and (B) circular economy projects.

We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed in the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) sector as we develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England.

What progress she has made on the development of a standardised tender structure for local authorities to submit to charge point operators for public access electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The Department provides significant support to local authorities under the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, including resource funding which can support procurement, alongside central procurement advice through the LEVI Support Body. The Department has also been working with the Crown Commercial Service to assist local authorities with their procurement. This includes developing a suite of customisable procurement documents, which have been shared with the industry and local authorities for feedback and are now being finalised.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising the Cornish language from Part II to Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

The Government has received a request from Cornwall Council to extend the protection of the Cornish language from Part II to Part III of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The request is currently being considered and a formal response will be issued in due course.

Whether her Department has consulted with all local schools in the Perranporth area as part of the review of the Perranporth Academy project; and when she expects the review to be concluded.

A top priority for the government is to drive high and rising education standards for children across the country. The department is reviewing mainstream free school projects to ensure that they continue to meet localised need for places, offer value for money and are not to the detriment of other schools in the local area.Departmental officials have worked closely with Truro and Penwith Academy Trust and Cornwall local authority to gather the required information. No decisions have yet been taken.Stakeholders are welcome to submit their views to the department. These will be taken into consideration before a final decision is made by Ministers.The review is ongoing. The department will update all trusts and local authorities on the next steps in the new year.We will also provide an update on the overall review in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled REview24, published by the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology on 14 November 2024, what steps he plans to take to tackle the potential increase in methane emissions from landfill sites.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra is aware of the issue raised in the REview24 report. We are actively engaging with the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) and the landfill gas industry to establish the scale of the potential impact of the ending of the Renewable Obligations Scheme from 2027. The Government is committed to tackling methane emissions from landfill. We will achieve this by developing and delivering policies to support diverting waste from landfill, carrying out ground-breaking research in measuring and managing methane emissions in the waste sector, and exploring how to support and enable additional ways of managing legacy emissions such as passive capture. Methane emissions from organic waste was a priority at COP29 and the Government was pleased to endorse the Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste, building on our Global Methane Pledge commitments.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a fund which is financed through a charge on the sale or transfer of benefiting properties to support (a) coastal protection and (b) flood prevention.

To speed up the delivery of new defences and ensure that the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account, a consultation will be launched in the new year which will include a review of the existing formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. We want to ensure that floods funding policy drives close partnership working and brings in wider financial contributions to flood and coastal erosion schemes, to make Government funding go further. We plan to consider this as part of the abovementioned review.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to NHS mental health services.

Around one million people are waiting to access mental health services, and vacancy rates for mental health trusts are around 10% - the highest of any NHS sector.This government will fix our broken NHS so people can be confident of accessing high quality mental health support when needed.This includes recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers, introducing specialist mental health professionals in every school, rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community and modernising the Mental Health Act.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban trail hunting during this Parliament.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Government committed to enacting a ban on Trail Hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Further announcements will be made in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to identify children who are educated outside school.

The department is committed to giving every child the best start in life, regardless of where and how they are educated. We cannot ignore the rising numbers of home-educated children and official data which shows that growing numbers of children have been moved into home education due to mental health concerns or lack of provision for special educational needs in their local schools.Local authorities have legal duties to be satisfied that all children are receiving a suitable education. However, this duty is undermined by the fact that parents have no obligation to inform their local authority of their decision to home educate. This means that local authorities are unable to fulfil their duties. There is a risk that children are going under the radar and missing out on the education they deserve that will enable them to access the best opportunities in life.For this reason, the government will use the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to require English local authorities to maintain registers of children not in school. Parents and certain out-of-school education providers will be required to provide information for those registers. This will help local authorities piece together a fuller and more accurate picture of those children who are receiving education otherwise than at school and target resources to locating and supporting those who are missing out on education. Local authorities will also have a duty to provide support to those home-educators who request it, which will act as an incentive for families to register.The registers will contain information on those children who are registered on a school roll and are receiving education otherwise than at school. It will not include children who are on a school roll but failing to attend. The department is taking separate action on that important issue of persistent absence.In terms of this new system of registration, parents can be assured that the registers will not be used to criminalise any parent who does not send their child to school. Parents who do not provide information for the registers will result in their local authority being unable to be satisfied that a child is not receiving a suitable education and so the local authority will need to proceed to a formal request for evidence about that education. If that evidence is not forthcoming, or is insufficient, this will usually lead to the local authority needing to issue a School Attendance Order. This is the same mechanism that exists in the current law; no change will be made.The government takes the matter of data protection very seriously, including any threats to privacy and personal data. Local authorities will be legally restricted as to whom they may share register information with and for what purposes. The usual provisions of the UK-GDPR will apply to all data processing activities.The department continues to work with local authorities on existing non-statutory registers and to collect data from those registers.