Written questions by Heylings.

What steps his Department is taking to help prevent the misuse of non-disclosure agreements in employment tribunal settlements.

The Government has been clear that NDAs should not be misused by employers to conceal misconduct. There are already legal limitations on the use of NDAs. For example, an NDA cannot prevent a worker from whistleblowing, require a worker to cover up iniquity, or prevent a worker from doing anything that may be required by law.We recognise that misuse of NDAs is an important issue which warrants further consideration and are actively looking at all options.

What steps she is taking to prevent business owners from closing their business following serious workplace safety incidents.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety. HSE has no powers to compel businesses to continue to operate following serious workplace safety incidents.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve consumer access to minimally processed foods.

This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. A key priority for the food strategy is to improve consumer access to healthy food, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives.We are forming a partnership across the food system, Government and the four nations to leverage expertise, while building on existing evidence and analysis, such as Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy. The food strategy is being developed in alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change and the Health and Growth missions. Through the lens of a new food strategy, there is an opportunity to deliver a healthier, fairer, more sustainable and more resilient 21st century food system that grows the economy, feeds the nation, nourishes individuals, and protects the planet, now and in the future.

Whether her Department plans to review its contract with The Big Word Interpreting Services Ltd for (a) service quality and (b) value for money; and how her Department monitors the performance of that contract.

The Ministry of Justice routinely reviews all its contracts to ensure service quality and value for money.The contract with The Big Word for the provision of interpretation and translation services is subject to ongoing performance monitoring and governance. Service quality is assessed against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), including interpreter attendance rates, fulfilment levels, and customer satisfaction.Failure to meet KPIs is addressed via the application of service credits (a deduction to the invoiced amount calculated via a prescribed formula in the contract). Reasons for KPI failure are discussed with the supplier as part of routine contract management to ensure any barriers to performance are addressed, or a plan is put in place to mitigate.Performance data is reviewed monthly, and The Big Word is required to provide regular management information and attend contract review meetings. Recent published data, available on GOV.UK, shows that The Big Word consistently meets the majority of contractual KPIs, with fulfilment rates above 95% in most categories.The Ministry of Justice regularly and continually evaluates the service performance, identifying improvements that can be implemented within our existing contracts. The Department is also mindful of the need to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. We have recently introduced an increase to a two hour minimum face to face booking (from 1 hour), negotiated with our suppliers and implemented in October 2024 which has contributed to an improvement in service performance, with the most recent data, published on 25 March 2025, showing an increase in success rate to 96%.The service is currently undergoing a re-procurement in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and aims to ensure a competitive, high-quality, and value-for-money solution for future language service needs. As part of this re-procurement, a benchmarking exercise was conducted against other government departments to compare value for money, and a lessons learned was conducted on improvements to the quality of services.The Department remains committed to delivering accessible justice by maintaining high standards in interpretation and translation services across the justice system.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that all Integrated Care Boards offer (a) three full cycles of IVF to women under 40 who have not conceived after two years of regular unprotected intercourse or 12 cycles of artificial insemination and (b) one full cycle of IVF to women aged 40 to 42 who meet the same criteria.

In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently reviewing their guidelines, Fertility problems: assessment and treatment, which will be the clinical standards for the future NHS offer.The Department is also considering how best to support integrated care boards to improve their local offer.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) that Integrated Care Boards are (i) required and (ii) resourced to deliver fertility services in accordance with NICE guidelines entitled Fertility problems: assessment and treatment, published on 20 February 2013 and (b) equality of access to fertility treatments across England.

In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently reviewing their guidelines, Fertility problems: assessment and treatment, which will be the clinical standards for the future NHS offer.The Department is also considering how best to support integrated care boards to improve their local offer.

What steps he is taking to consult the public on his revised seventh carbon budget plan.

We have a clear mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower. This transition will make people better off now and for generations to come. We remain committed to supporting people to realise the benefits and design policies that are responsive to their needs. By end of October 2025, we will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy. We will also publish a Net Zero Public Participation Strategy which will set out how we will support people to access the benefits of new technologies and ensure that diverse perspectives are considered in net zero policy making. Looking ahead, we will set Carbon Budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties. This will set out the next phase of our pathway to net zero to continue to secure the economic and societal benefits of the net zero transition.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of concerns from solar developers on the Government’s 2035 projections for their technology and the potential impact on (a) Contracts for Difference competition and (b) reaching Government’s clean power targets post-2030.

My Department engaged extensively with Ofgem, NESO, and stakeholders on the 2031-35 solar capacity ranges figures in the Clean Power Action Plan. In April, we published an update to the Action Plan to reflect the recent trend of an increased solar project pipeline at transmission. [1] Connections reform will benefit Contracts for Difference competition and achieving clean power by prioritising projects that are progressing and aligned with our strategic needs. Projects which hold CfD contracts, for example, will automatically be considered strategically aligned and will be eligible for a confirmed connection agreement as part of the reformed connections queue.1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan-solar-capacity-update-letter-to-neso/clean-power-2030-action-plan-solar-capacity-update-letter-to-neso-7-april-2025

Whether his Department has made an estimate of the real-terms value of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s £30,000 Quality-Adjusted Life Year threshold since its introduction in 1999.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considers the overall resources available to the National Health Service when determining whether an intervention represents value for money. Therefore, decisions about a new technology must consider the implications for healthcare programmes for other patient groups that may be displaced by the adoption of the new technology, and the opportunity cost, including those programmes or technologies not evaluated by NICE. NICE’s threshold represents the opportunity cost to the NHS of recommending a new technology. Empirical evidence suggests that the actual opportunity cost is closer to £15,000 per Quality Adjusted Life Year gained. Considering the real terms value of the NICE’s threshold is therefore not directly relevant because it represents the opportunity cost to the NHS.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for an older person's bus pass to include people over the age of 60 in England.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.However, local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, such as lowering the age of eligibility. Additional local concessions are provided and funded by local authorities from local resources. The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority have been allocated £10.5 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available.

Whether the 2035 Future Energy Scenarios-derived capacity ranges for solar and batteries in his Department’s Clean Power Action Plan connections annex are intended to be used by Ofgem and network operators as (a) technology caps and (b) interim indications.

The 2035 capacity ranges present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system and provide certainty to investors by ensuring a 10-year horizon for connection offers. NESO will use the ranges to underpin connection offers out to 2035. The 2035 figures are interim, to enable connection reform to proceed at pace, and are subject to updates through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will be published in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of silvopastoral systems and holistic planned grazing practices to carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement.

All prospective Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme offers were assessed for their potential impact against a range of environmental and cultural services, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity indicators. The assessment was based on a combination of expert opinion and rapid evidence reviews and is now published. In addition, we have modelled the impact of different densities and tree species suitable for silvo-pastoral systems on carbon sequestration and a limited set of species indicators. These models have given us the capability to assess the potential impact of Environmental Land Management offers. With over 38,000 live Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements, the SFI offers a wide range of actions for the management of grassland, including herbal leys, legumes in grassland and management of grassland with very low nutrient inputs. The Sustainable Farming Incentive also includes actions for planning soil, nutrient and integrated pest management, which help farmers to choose the most appropriate practices for their farm.

On what statutory basis his Department can prevent biomass companies from claiming renewable subsidies for burning wood from irreplaceable primary forests.

The Secretary of State has the statutory authority to determine the sustainability criteria for biomass subsidies either by secondary legislation such as regulations under the Renewables Obligation scheme, or by determining the terms of a contract under the Contracts for Difference scheme. While the Secretary of State sets the sustainability framework, it is for relevant regulators such as Ofgem, or the Low-Carbon Contracts Company as the contractual counterparty to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, to enforce sustainability requirements. Government only supports biomass that satisfies sustainability criteria. The proposed Low-Carbon Dispatchable CfD will strengthen sustainability criteria by excluding biomass sourced from primary forest and old-growth areas from receiving subsidy.

What steps his Department is taking with Companies Houses to ensure that businesses are adequately insured.

Companies House supports the Registrar of Companies in the fulfilment of her functions to incorporate and dissolve companies, and to provide public access to company information by maintaining the public register of companies.Insurance is a matter for individual companies and businesses. Where insurance is mandatory to operate or trade in a particular sector or environment, it would be for the relevant regulatory body to take action if a particular company’s insurance arrangements were inadequate. In England, Scotland and Wales the Health and Safety Executive enforces the legal requirement for businesses to maintain employers’ liability insurance.

What steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for to e-bikes to reduce the number of injuries involving e-bikes.

Everyone who cycles, whether they are riding an e-bike or a conventional pedal bike, has a duty to behave in a safe and responsible matter and must follow the rules set out in the Highway Code. E-bikes can only be ridden legally on public roads where they comply in full with the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983. These Regulations are there to ensure the safety of e-bikes both for the riders and for other road users. The enforcement of any offences relating to cycling is a matter for the police, and the Government is providing the police with more powers to make it easier to seize any vehicle, including an e-bike, where it is being used in an anti-social manner. Measures contained in the Crime and Policing Bill will allow the police to seize the vehicle without first being required to provide the rider with a warning. This will help get dangerous and unsafe e-bikes off our roads for good.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Land Use Framework will be applied retrospectively to existing Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications.

When the Land Use Framework is published, it will set out the evidence, data and tools needed to help safeguard our most productive agricultural land and identify the best areas for nature’s recovery. The Framework will be a guide for decision makers on how we make the most of what our diverse landscapes have to offer, and its evidence base has underpinned wider Government reform, including the Strategic Spatial Energy plan. It will not bind decision makers or prescribe land uses in specific places.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans for the Land Use Framework to be afforded material consideration in relevant planning policy documents.

By law, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. What constitutes a material consideration is very widely defined and it is for the local planning authority to determine what is a relevant consideration based on the circumstances of a particular case. The evidence base that underpinned the Land Use Consultation, and feedback on it, will inform the Government’s wider strategic planning agenda.

Food and Rural Affairs, how the Land Use Framework and the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan will work together to inform decision-making on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects.

The Government consulted on land use in England earlier this year, the outcomes of which will inform the publication of the Land Use Framework later this year. The analysis underpinning the Land Use Consultation for England has fed into the development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan’s methodology. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Defra will continue to work closely to ensure that the SSEP and the Land Use Framework work together cohesively alongside other sector plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish the final Land Use Framework following the consultation process.

The Government ran a consultation on land use in England from January to April this year. The responses to this consultation, and feedback from supporting workshops, are being analysed. These responses and outputs will inform the preparation of the Land Use Framework, which will be published in due course.

What steps he is taking to improve the safety of cooking appliances in order to reduce the number of home fires.

Regulations require manufacturers to place only safe gas-fuelled and electric powered cookers and ovens on the market. Regulations require gas-fuelled cookers to be installed by a competent and Gas-Safe registered engineer. Landlords must ensure gas safety checks are carried out annually and have a Gas Safety Certificate for their property, and that electrical checks are carried out every five years, and that they obtain an Electrical Installation Condition Report.The current Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will give the Government powers to amend and update existing product safety legislation should this be needed.