Written questions by Heylings.

Whether the Government plans to introduce additional regulatory or statutory oversight to control air pollution on major public transport hubs, including the London Underground; and whether it intends to place specific statutory duties on bodies such as Transport for London to comply with the Air Quality Standards Regulations and the Environment Act 2021 in enclosed transport environments.

The Mayor of London and Transport for London are responsible for the management of air quality on the London Underground. However, the Government remains committed to improving air quality to deliver benefits for public health, the environment, and the economy. We are committed to cleaning up our air and protecting the public from the harms of pollution by tackling air pollution across the transport network. There are currently no plans to introduce additional regulatory or statutory requirements on major public transport hubs.

What discussions she has had with Transport for London on interim measures it is currently implementing on the London Underground to reduce passenger exposure, including that of children and clinically vulnerable groups, to particulate matter concentrations that substantially exceed ambient outdoor air levels.

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has regular discussions with TfL on a range of issues, however, the management of air quality on the London Underground is a matter solely for them. I would suggest that you contact the Mayor and TfL directly regarding this issue.

What measures he plans to introduce to help residents of housing estates with central, metered LPG tanks.

The Government has taken action and announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil, or other alternative fuels like LPG, to help tackle surging prices through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).It is at the local authority’s discretion to determine appropriate support by taking a person-centred, needs-based approach. Guidance to LAs is clear that crisis payments can be provided to support energy for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the CRF in England and more information on the fund can be found here: Crisis and Resilience Fund (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029) - GOV.UK. In addition, the Government intends to introduce new consumer protections for LPG customers and is rapidly exploring new ways to step in and ensure households are better protected.

What discussions she has had with TfL on progress implementing the interventions identified as urgent in the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Annual Report 2022, including improvements to ventilation and filtration systems on the London Underground; and what assessment has been made of their effectiveness to date.

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has regular discussions with TfL on a range of issues, however, the management of air quality on the London Underground is a matter solely for them. I would suggest that you contact the Mayor and TfL directly regarding this issue.

With reference to the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants’ recommendation in 2019 for a comprehensive toxicological study of particulate matter on the London Underground, what the current status of that study is.

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has regular discussions with TfL on a range of issues, however, the management of air quality on the London Underground is a matter solely for them. I would suggest that you contact the Mayor and TfL directly regarding this issue.

With reference to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Annual Report 2022, what specific actions the Government is taking to help address the public health risks arising from exposure to air pollution on the London Underground.

Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL). The Department has regular discussions with TfL on a range of issues, however, the management of air quality on the London Underground is a matter solely for them. I would suggest that you contact the Mayor and TfL directly regarding this issue.

What (i) steps his department is taking to address regional differences in funding for Mirena coil fitting and (ii) if he plans to ensure this service is available at GP surgeries.

The funding and provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), such as the Mirena coil, is primarily a matter for local determination.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning contraception for both contraceptive and gynaecological purposes, including essential services under the GP Contract and LARC as a local arrangement.Contraception for contraceptive purposes, including LARC, is also a prescribed aspect of local authority sexual health commissioning. The Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access to most sexual and reproductive health services through the Public Health Grant.It is for individual local authorities and ICBs to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, and to commission the blend of service access that best suits their population.The renewed Women’s Health Strategy, which was published on 15 April, sets out how we will ensure that women have straightforward access to the full range of contraception, including LARC, that meets their individual needs and preferences.We will include contraception in the upcoming sexual and reproductive health framework to clarify current commissioning arrangements and to share opportunities and best practice for closer working and improved pathways.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent and sustained increases in energy prices on energy-intensive manufacturers in the ceramics sector, including companies such as Denby Pottery; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that viable, export-focused ceramics manufacturers are able to remain competitive and avoid closure as a result of energy cost pressures.

The Government is aware of the pressure on ceramics businesses created by high energy prices, and that the gas-intensive nature of the majority of ceramics businesses means they do not currently qualify for the Government’s electricity price support schemes, the British Industry Supercharger and Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme. I encourage the ceramics sector to engage with the reviews of these schemes when the opportunities arise. Officials are aware of the challenges faced by individual ceramics manufacturers, including Denby Pottery, and continue to monitor developments closely through regular engagement with the sector’s main trade association, Ceramics UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase the number of chalk streams designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest or (b) Special Areas of Conservation.

Chalk streams are an incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature- rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife. Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) are notified by Natural England (NE) under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, where land is judged to be of special interest for its wildlife or geology. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is notified as part of that process Decisions on whether to notify additional stretches of chalk stream as SSSIs are made by NE, based on its expert judgement of the best available scientific evidence, and in line with published SSSI selection guidelines. Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are designated under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. The Secretary of State must designate sites on the basis of relevant scientific information and by applying the prescribed selection criteria, as published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. At present, eight chalk streams have additional protection through SSSI and/or SAC designation; any further designations would proceed only where the scientific evidence shows the selection criteria are met.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing ring-fenced funding for chalk stream restoration in the Water Restoration Fund.

The Government is investing £1.8 million through the Water Restoration Fund (WRF) and Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) for locally-led chalk stream clean-up projects. On 20 January this year the Government announced that it is reinvesting £29 million from water company fines into local projects to clean up our environment. This includes investment in WEIF to support over 100 projects which will improve 450km of rivers, restore 650 acres of natural habitats and plant 100,000 new trees – and will include projects which support chalk streams. Chalk streams are incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife and the Government is committed to taking measures to protect them.

Food and Rural Affairs, when the Water Restoration Fund will open for new applications.

The Government is investing £1.8 million through the Water Restoration Fund (WRF) and Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF) for locally-led chalk stream clean-up projects. On 20 January this year the Government announced that it is reinvesting £29 million from water company fines into local projects to clean up our environment. This includes investment in WEIF to support over 100 projects which will improve 450km of rivers, restore 650 acres of natural habitats and plant 100,000 new trees – and will include projects which support chalk streams. Chalk streams are incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife and the Government is committed to taking measures to protect them.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a dedicated chalk stream action in the Sustainable Farm Incentive.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive already contains a wide range of actions to protect and enhance the watercourses of England. These include a range of buffer and habitat strips that can be used adjacent to water bodies and further actions for low intensity farming for use within the wider catchments. Where more specialised management is required, additional actions are available in Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier that can be tailored by Natural England advisers to meet the needs of specific sites, including chalk streams. The Government is developing the strongest programme on record for tackling water pollution from agriculture. This includes spending £2 billion a year by April 2028 on Environmental Land Management schemes to provide particular benefits for water, nature and the wider environment. These nationwide actions will benefit chalk streams as well as other water bodies.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that individuals involved in civil justice proceedings who do not have substantial financial means to obtain barristers or paid legal advice are afforded adequate protections, support and access to justice.

Supporting access to justice for everyone in England and Wales is a key objective for this Government, and the Government recognises the important role that legal aid plays in helping some of the most vulnerable in society access legal advice.Individuals who are unable to pay for legal advice or representation for civil justice issues may be eligible for legal aid, subject to the scope of legal aid and the eligibility rules on financial thresholds and the merits of the case as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and its supporting secondary legislation. Applications must generally pass a means and merits test. The means test assesses an applicant’s financial eligibility (including their capital e.g. savings), income and access to welfare benefits. The merits test assesses the merits of the case including the likelihood of success and the benefit to the applicant.This Government is delivering the first major fee uplift for civil legal aid since 1996, investing an estimated £20 million in housing and immigration law once fully implemented. In addition, the Government’s Public Office (Accountability) Bill will provide the largest expansion of civil legal aid in a decade by ensuring bereaved families have access to non-means tested legal aid for all inquests where a public authority is an interested person.The Government also continues to fund the activities of advice charities to bolster the delivery of legal support services – both in person and online - for people experiencing civil justice problems. The Ministry of Justice is providing nearly £20 million of multi-year funding, extending our existing legal support grant programmes for 59 frontline organisations (including a range of services such as some regional Citizens Advice and Law Centres, other community-based advice services, and online information) to September 2026 to help people resolve legal issues, and providing a new grant that will run from October 2026 to March 2029. We are also working with the sector, via the Legal Support Strategy Delivery Group, to drive improvements to the sector.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99556 on Electricity: Prices, what progress he has made on the reformed national pricing delivery plan; and what his timeline is for publishing that plan.

The Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan is a key part of our vision for the future GB electricity system. We published the delivery plan today.

How many hours over the past year has gas generation been online and setting the wholesale price, used not meet power demand but to meet system inertia requirements.

Generation activated to meet the system’s inertia requirements does not set the wholesale price. NESO meets system inertia requirements through procuring in the balancing and ancillary service markets, rather than the wholesale market. The wholesale market operates on the principle of marginal pricing, where the most expensive technology required to meet demand sets the price. However, the balancing market operates on a “pay as bid” model, where generators are paid based on the price they bid into the market, rather than the marginal price.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adding chalk streams to the list of irreplaceable habitats in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included explicit recognition of chalk streams as features of high environmental value.We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

What discussions his Department has had with the General Medical Council on the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of that organisation's guidance entitled Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices, published on 5 April 2021, on shared care agreements for people with ADHD.

Building on the work of the independent ADHD Taskforce, on 4 December 2025 my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, which will inform our approach to ensuring appropriate support is in place.The independent review published an interim report on the 31 March 2026 which sets out key findings from the data and evidence reviewed so far, learning to date from discussions with people, including people with lived experience, and organisations as well as setting out plans for the next phase of the review and the key questions to address in more detail.The Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of shared care agreements with independent sector providers for patients prescribed ADHD medication or held discussions with General Medical Council on their guidance.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring the installation of dynamic roadside electric vehicle charging pricing totems, including on the functioning of the market, the level of competition, and the potential impact on consumers.

The Department for Transport has not made such an assessment.  However, Government is modernising electric vehicle charging signage on major A-roads. Changes now allow larger electric vehicle charging hubs to be signposted from major A-roads. We are also working with local authorities to make it easier to provide signage to and about charging facilities on local roads and to ensure drivers have the best possible information at the roadside.

Innovation and Technology, what measures her Department is taking to hold online platforms to account for preventing fraud on their services prior to the full commencement of the Online Safety Act 2023’s provisions relating to scam advertising.

The Online Safety Act lists certain fraud offences as ‘priority offences’, meaning regulated services must already prevent users encountering user-generated fraudulent content, swiftly remove it if it appears, and mitigate and manage the risk of their services facilitating fraud. Ofcom, the independent regulator, has robust powers to act if it finds services are failing in their regulatory duties.Services designated as Category 1 and 2A (large user-to-user and large search services respectively) will have additional duties to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising. Ofcom aims to publish its register and consult on the additional duties – including on fraudulent advertising – in summer 2026.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 94271 on Royal Mail: Takeovers, what discussions he has held with the EP Group since December 2025 on meeting the terms of Royal Mail’s agreements with the Communication Workers Union on workforce pay and conditions, in particular workforce pay and conditions for new entrants.

The Secretary of State has been in regular contact with Dave Ward, General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), and Daniel Křetínský, the owner of EP Group, including chairing three trilateral meetings since December 2025 to encourage both sides to reach an agreement.The Government is pleased to note that the CWU and Royal Mail have reached an agreement on the implementation of Universal Service Obligation reforms and on new entrant terms and conditions.