Written questions by Gilmour.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislation to (a) standardise service charge (i) item descriptions and (ii) terminology used and (b) include references to (A) Schedule of Rates codes and (B) regulatory standards where applicable.

The Government recognises that Non-Disclosure Agreements are sometimes used for out of court settlements between leaseholders and their managing agent or landlord. It considers that in the vast majority of cases these should be unnecessary and only be used where they are acceptable to both parties. The Government expect landlords and their agents to be transparent with leaseholders on how the service charges are made up.The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building.By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the various provisions of the Act into force.The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will bring forward legislation to prohibit the imposition of non-disclosure agreements on people who (a) successfully challenge (i) landlords and (ii) managing agents over (A) service charges and (B) major works bills and (b) agree an out of court settlements.

The Government recognises that Non-Disclosure Agreements are sometimes used for out of court settlements between leaseholders and their managing agent or landlord. It considers that in the vast majority of cases these should be unnecessary and only be used where they are acceptable to both parties. The Government expect landlords and their agents to be transparent with leaseholders on how the service charges are made up.The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease and the age and condition of a building.By law, variable service charges must be reasonable. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures designed to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation need to bring the various provisions of the Act into force.The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the University of Exeter's report entitled Resilience of Coastal Communities, Work Package 1: Responding to recent changes, Survey and Interview, Results Summary, published on 9 October 2024.

Defra welcomes the publication of the report, which is an output of work funded by UK Research and Innovation. We consider a number of policy initiatives already align with many of the work’s findings, and will continue to consider their implications in the further development of policy related to the management of fisheries and the marine environment.

If she will make an assessment of the impact of the journal system for Universal Credit on the mental health of applicants and users.

DWP are committed to providing the best possible support for all our customers, including the most vulnerable in society. Within Universal Credit, we recognise that customers have individual needs and different barriers, so we train and support all our work coaches to be able to respond appropriately to a customer’s situation. We have no plans to assess the impact of the journal system on the mental health of applicants and users., Independent research published in 2018 showed that the majority of customers found the journal easy to use. The DWP Customer Experience Survey for 2023-2024 showed that 88% of people found it easy to use their UC online account.

If she will make an assessment of the impact of the restriction of school and extra curricular options through repayment deadlines within the UK Benefits System on parents and students.

The department has no plans to undertake this specific assessment, but we have evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. Evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to achieve and thrive. That is why the department is working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We recognise that these activities are a vital way for children and young people to gain skills and strengthen their sense of school belonging, supporting them to thrive. The Department for Work and Pensions strives to set affordable and sustainable repayment plans and encourages customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate. When a customer makes contact because they are experiencing financial hardship, the rate of repayment can be reduced or, depending on the customer’s financial circumstances, a temporary suspension of repayment can be agreed. There is no minimum amount a customer has to repay. As seen in the measures announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Autumn Budget 2024 to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty, a new Fair Repayment Rate will be introduced from April 2025, reducing Universal Credit deductions overall cap from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead to discuss a case of international child abduction.

The Government takes International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA) very seriously. When a British child has been abducted, the FCDO's consular staff provide empathetic and practical support to those affected, including to signpost them to relevant partner organisations. The FCDO has also published guidance to assist parents affected by IPCA. FCDO Consular staff will contact the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead for more details of the case, to offer relevant advice.

If she will (a) hold discussions with the Sentencing Council on the adequacy of sentencing guidelines for people who have been convicted of wildlife crimes and (b) make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the conviction rate for reported wildlife crime incidents.

Sentencing guidelines are developed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales, in fulfilment of its statutory duty to do so, and the Council regularly assesses their effectiveness. It would not be appropriate for the Government to require the Council to develop or review particular guidelines.The Government assesses and publishes the impact of its policies, including the impact on the Criminal Justice System, in a variety of ways including Impact Assessments.

Whether he plans to roll out NHS-funded Hybrid Close Loop technology to all Type 1 Diabetics in the UK.

In December 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published the Technology Appraisal guidance, and recommended that the National Health Service in England makes Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) systems available to eligible adults, and all children and young people, those under 19 years old, with type 1 diabetes. The NICE and NHS England agreed on a phased implementation period for HCL over five-years, and without the usual 90-day funding mandate. This is because of a need to build essential workforce competencies within specialist adult services. The NHS England HCL Implementation Strategy, published in January 2024, set out how local systems can meet the needs of the eligible population living with type 1 diabetes. The initial phase of the roll out of HCL systems started earlier this year, in April 2024. Further information on the HCL Implementation Strategy is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/hybrid-closed-loop-technologies-5-year-implementation-strategy/

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead on the (a) Exmoor Farmers' Network and (b) farming community in Tiverton and Minehead constituency.

My Defra private office handles all meeting requests. Please contact them directly to request a meeting.

If she will hold discussions with the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead on the (a) condition of Tiverton High School and (b) school community.

Ensuring schools have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is unable to meet at present due to constraints on her diary. However, departmental officials will be in touch with you shortly to arrange a meeting with the honourable member who are best placed to provide detail on the condition of the school.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the National Care Institute for Health and Care Excellence severity modifier in 2022 on the (a) appraisal of Enhertu for HER2-low secondary breast cancer and (b) availability of new treatments for secondary breast cancer over the next (i) five, (ii) ten and (iii) twenty years.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for developing the methods and processes it uses in its evaluations independently, and in consultation with stakeholders. The severity modifier that the NICE introduced in 2022 is based on evidence of societal preferences, and was introduced as part of a comprehensive review of the NICE’s methods and processes, following extensive public and stakeholder engagement. The severity modifier was designed to be opportunity cost neutral in relation to the end of life modifier that it replaced, and to apply to a broader range of conditions than had benefited from the end of life modifier.The NICE was unfortunately unable to recommend Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) for the treatment of HER2-low secondary breast cancer in its final guidance published in July 2024, despite the topic being awarded a severity weighting. Other drugs for advanced cancer, including breast cancer, have been approved using these methods.No assessment has been made on the likely impact on appraisals of future breast cancer medicines. However, since its introduction, the severity modifier has resulted in a higher approval rate for cancer medicines than under the NICE’s previous methods, and has also allowed greater weight to be applied to non-cancer medicines that address a broader range of severe diseases, enabling the NICE to recommend medicines for conditions such as cystic fibrosis and hepatitis D. The NICE is keeping the impact of the severity modifier under review and is scoping further research into society’s preferences on how much additional weighting to give to health benefits for people with severe diseases.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will restore the license for ASOLUX; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the restoration of that license on the growth of bracken in (a) the Quantocks and (b) Exmoor within the Tiverton and Minehead Constituency.

Asulox is a herbicide containing the active substance asulam, which is not approved for use in the UK. For some years, use of Asulox to control bracken has been allowed under strictly controlled conditions under emergency authorisation arrangements. In 2023 the company behind asulam decided to cease supporting further applications for emergency authorisation and has not applied for UK approval of asulam. There are therefore no plans to restore the licence for Asulox or assess the potential impact of its restoration.

Media and Sport, how much funding her Department has provided to youth groups in Tiverton and Minehead constituency in the two latest periods for which data is available; and if she will take steps to increase that funding.

This government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving young people’s life chances and wellbeing. As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. This is funded through the Local Government Settlement which amounts to over £60 billion this year.This is in addition to the DCMS investment of over £500 million in youth services to ensure every young person has access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. Within the Tiverton and Minehead constituency, DCMS has directly provided funding for Duke of Edinburgh to be run within schools, encouraging young people to develop skills, build confidence, and make a difference in their communities through volunteering, access to the outdoors, and skills development.

Whether she plans to (a) review the planned changes to alcohol duty rates before their implementation in February 2025, notwithstanding an extension of the current duty freeze and (b) publish an impact assessment of the planned changes (i) on the (A) hospitality and (B) wine production sectors and (ii) more broadly.

As with all taxes, the Government keeps alcohol duty rates under review during its Budget process. Any substantive tax changes would be accompanied by a relevant Tax Information and Impact Note. The current temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 31 January 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding for waterways.

The Canal and River Trust is the largest inland waterway navigation authority in England and Wales, responsible for the 2,000 miles of canals and rivers it owns. The Government is currently providing the Trust with a 15-year grant (2012-2027) totalling about £740 million to support maintenance of the canal network infrastructure. A review of the grant funding concluded that the Trust is providing value for money and there was a good case for continued grant funding. A further substantial 10-year grant from 2027 of £401 million was announced in July 2023, reconfirmed by the Government in August 2024, reflecting the importance of the country’s inland waterways and supporting the Trust in the long-standing objective of reducing reliance on public funding while developing alternative funding sources. The Government also provides grant-in-aid funding to the Environment Agency to support its 630 miles of navigations. This totalled around £70 million over the last three years. Future funding will be determined as part of the current spending review. There is no other general Government funding available for inland waterways, and the other navigation authorities responsible for smaller waterway networks raise funds through their boat licensing regimes and other activities working with local communities.