Written questions by Heylings.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63906, what recent estimate he has made of the waiting times for Access to Work Applications.

We have interpreted this question as referring to the average processing time from the date an application is submitted to the date a decision is made. The current average processing time for access to work is 100.5 days from April 2025 to January 2026. We are committed to reducing processing times. We also prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

What discussions he has has with (i) the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, (ii) the Children's Commissioner, (iii) the Local Government Association and (iv) Adoption UK on waiting times for current and previously looked-after children for mental health services.

The Minister of Care met with the Children’s Commissioner’s office and other stakeholders at the Care Leaver Ministerial Board in October 2025, where they discussed mental health support and ways to improve health outcomes for both current and previously looked after children. Officials have also engaged with the Local Government Association on similar issues.In addition, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health took part in a care leavers advisory group meeting in October 2024, where conversations focused on care leavers’ health, their mental health needs, and waiting times for services.We have not engaged with Adoption UK on this particular issue.

Whether NHS England holds data on the number of (i) current and (ii) previously looked-after children on waiting lists for (a) mental health services and (b) neurodevelopmental assessments.

NHS England holds data on the number of current looked-after children accessing or waiting for contact with secondary mental health services. We can identify individuals waiting for neurodevelopmental, autism, or mental health assessment via the indicated primary reason for referral or type of team they were referred to. NHS England does not hold specific data on the number of previously looked after children. If an individual is no longer a looked-after child, this would not be held within the dataset.

If her Department has made any assessment of the merits of introducing national tracking of looked-after children and previously looked-after children on health waiting lists.

There is currently no national tracking of looked-after children or previously looked-after children on health waiting lists and the department has not assessed the merits of such a measure.All local authorities and healthcare partners have a responsibility to promote the health and wellbeing of all looked-after children. This is outlined within the ‘Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children’ statutory guidance.The local authority must ensure that every child whom it looks after has an up to date individual health plan. Health plans are based on individual health assessments carried out by a registered medical practitioner. They describe how identified needs will be addressed to improve health outcomes. Health assessments should take place at least every six months for children under five and at least every 12 months for children five and over.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of recommendations 11 and 12 of the Nuclear Regulatory Review on the level playing field provisions in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

We will present a full government response and implementation plan by end of February 2026, taking account of our national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes. The Review acknowledges that when reviewing the recommendations in detail and in considering implementation, we may conclude that some recommended outcomes could be better achieved by alternative means, or that delivery timescales must necessarily be adjusted.

For what reason repairs and maintenance are treated differently for VAT purposes for (a) places of worship and (b) museums and art galleries.

Construction repair and remedial works to all buildings are charged at the standard rate of VAT, this includes places of worship and museums/art galleries. Previously major alterations to listed buildings were zero-rated, including places of worship. Since 2012, alteration works to a protected building are standard rated for VAT. Details are set out in HMRC guidance, available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708#section9 Some museums and galleries receive VAT refunds on the costs associated with providing free access to their permanent collections, under the museums and galleries VAT Refund Scheme. More information can be found at VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries (VAT Notice 998) - GOV.UK The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provides grants for VAT paid by listed places of worship on their repair and maintenance costs, with the objective of helping to preserve UK heritage. From April 2026 the scheme will be replaced by a Places of Worship Renewal Fund, which will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship. It is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of whether the £92 million Places of Worship Renewal Fund over four years provides equivalent financial support to places of worship compared with the Previous Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, in the context of grant-funded projects being subject to VAT from 1 April 2026.

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year, the same level of funding as provided by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in 2025/26. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will award grants for projects to cover capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project, as is presently the case with the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In some cases the amount granted could be greater than just the VAT element currently funded.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has assessed the adequacy of the Green Book's methodology of the social and health benefits of places of worship, including when determining levels of capital and tax relief support.

DCMS welcomes the new Green Book, including its treatment of social and health benefits. DCMS interventions in listed places of worship were assessed in line with Green book methodology. The Culture and Heritage Capital Programme, provides supplementary guidance to the Green Book which increasingly helps us understand and articulate the growth, health and wellbeing impacts of interventions like the Places of Worship Renewal Fund.

What steps he is taking to ensure (a) the UK is establishing a resilient clean energy supply chain and (b) strengthen cooperation with European partners.

Our Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan set out HMG’s approach to creating investment, growth and jobs in clean energy industries, including supply chains. In addition, Great British Energy has launched its £1bn supply chain programme, Energy Engineered in the UK, to boost clean energy industries. We’ve empowered the National Wealth Fund with £5.8bn for carbon capture, low carbon hydrogen, gigafactories, ports, and green steel. The British Business Bank £4bn scale up fund will deploy capital to target both the scale-up gap for climate tech and the expansion of new specialist investors. UK Export Finance will deploy £13bn of direct lending to stimulate overseas demand in the industrial strategy priority sectors. The UK continues to work closely with European partners to strengthen security of supply and accelerate the deployment of clean energy. We are deepening both bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including through established UK-EU structures and agreements, cooperation in the North Seas, and through our broader network of energy partnerships across Europe.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on places of worship of replacing the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme with the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, in the context of the imposition of VAT on repair and maintenance work from 1 April 2026.

The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report.Our evaluation showed that while the current Scheme had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most.Over the next four years, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship and is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.The evaluation did not assess the specific impact of starting the Places of Worship Renewal Fund after the Listed Places of Worship scheme ended.

What plans she has to ask the Office for Students to introduce a regulatory condition on student mental health and wellbeing.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator, and any decision to introduce a new regulatory condition would be for the OfS to determine. The Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce and department are working closely with the OfS as part of our work to improve consistency and raise standards in how providers support student mental health. This includes considering regulatory options alongside other levers such as governance, assurance and strengthened good practice frameworks. We will set out our position following advice from the taskforce, which is helping identify what a clear, strong and proportionate framework should look like.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure that universities share learning from reviews of student deaths by suicide.

Universities are expected to carry out serious incident reviews after a suspected student suicide, following sector‑developed postvention guidance produced by Universities UK, PAPYRUS and Samaritans, which sets clear expectations for reviewing incidents and identifying lessons for improvement. To support sector‑wide learning, the department last year published the first National Review of Higher Education Student Suicide Deaths, drawing on more than 160 such reviews to provide a shared evidence base and recommendations for improvement across the sector. These recommendations are now being taken forward through the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce, which is working with providers to embed consistent practice and strengthen postvention approaches. The Taskforce is also exploring how to improve data and evidence collection so that learning from future cases can be captured more consistently and used to drive further continuous improvement across the sector.

What steps her Department is taking to help coordinate services between higher education institutions and NHS mental health services for students.

Improving coordination between universities and NHS mental health services is a key priority. The Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce recently published Improving Student Mental Health through Higher Education-NHS Partnerships, which sets out evidenced models of effective collaboration and provides case studies showing how stronger partnerships working together can transform outcomes for students while delivering efficiencies for local health services. The government encourages any university not already involved in such a partnership to draw on these models and to work with their local integrated care board to identify an approach that meets local needs.

How students and bereaved families are being involved in the work of the Implementation Taskforce on student mental health and suicide prevention.

Students and bereaved families are directly shaping the work of the higher education mental health implementation taskforce. Representatives of the LEARN network sit on the taskforce and have played a key role in agreeing its priorities and work strands, ensuring lived experience insight informs all outputs. The taskforce also includes formal student representation via the National Union of Students, and other members such as Student Minds also ensure that student voice and sector expertise underpin their programme of work.

What evidence the Government has considered on whether the absence of a statutory duty of care contributes to inconsistent responses by universities to students at risk of harm.

The department has considered a wide range of evidence in assessing the factors that contribute to variation in how higher education (HE) providers support students at risk of harm. This includes official statistics, coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports, and other case reviews that highlight issues with processes, communication and access to services relevant to consistency of support.Our assessment has further drawn on extensive engagement with providers, students, bereaved families, mental health experts and sector leaders, including through provider surveys and the HE mental health implementation taskforce, where those with lived experience have shaped priorities and workstrands.Last year, we also published the first ever national review of HE student suicide deaths, which analysed more than 160 serious incident reviews and identified operational issues such as information sharing, case management and staff training as key drivers of inconsistency. We are now working with the taskforce and the sector to embed the review’s recommendations and to strengthen monitoring and institutional accountability.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2025 to Question 96957, when his Department plans to roll out the Connections Accelerator Service.

The Connections Accelerator Service became operational in December 2025, entering its pilot phase and meeting the commitment set out in the Industrial Strategy. The Department is now scaling up the service throughout 2026.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting minimum gigawatt targets for (i) local energy and (ii) community energy projects.

This Government is hugely ambitious about the role that local and community energy will play in achieving our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. On 10 February 2026, Great British Energy and the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero published the Local Power Plan which sets out the UK’s largest ever public investment in community energy. Backed by up to £1 billion, the Local Power Plan aims to support more than 1,000 local and community energy projects by 2030. As set out in its Strategic Plan in December 2025, Great British Energy has an aim to deliver 15GW in clean energy generation and storage capacity over the next 5 years.

With reference to the Warm Homes Plan, published on 21 January 2026, what proportion of consumer loans will be zero-interest.

The Government will set out further detail on the consumer loan offer in due course. Engagement with the lending industry is ongoing to support the development of a range of options suitable for different consumers and different technologies. Interest rates will vary across different types of products, all significantly discounted from market rates. This will ensure households have meaningful choice while keeping costs as low as possible. The Government's priority is to make these technologies affordable for households so that every family can access them and benefit from the associated bill savings.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the extension of ECO4 being limited to December 2026 on insulation installers and the supply chain.

The government recognises the closure of the supplier obligation schemes may present challenges for companies in the supply chain. The government is committed to supporting businesses to transition to new opportunities in the sector. The Warm Homes Plan sets out government’s plans to invest nearly £15 billion in home upgrades. The number of UK jobs supported in clean energy industries and their supply chains is estimated to increase from around 440,000 today to around 860,000 by 2030 and we are working closely with the sector to support its growth.

What discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the potential impact of the United States leaving the Paris Climate Agreement on the global, collective effort to lower fossil fuel emissions and tackle climate change.

Decisions on participation in the Paris Agreement are for individual countries to make. The UK supports the UNFCCC and wants to see as many countries as possible participate. The UK will continue to work with all countries to tackle the urgency of the climate crisis, and will pursue an energy policy that gives us energy security and helps get bills down for good.