Written questions by Gilmour.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to allocate funding to the Great South West Partnership after April 2026.

Following a four week public consultation, in March 2025 the government announced its intention to end funding for Pan-Regional Partnerships, with an exceptional, time-limited award of £281,250 for the Great South West Pan-Regional Partnership for the 2025/26 financial year. Pan-Regional Partnerships, including the Great South West, have made a valuable contribution, supporting collaboration between local authorities and government and taking forward a breadth of work on shared growth opportunities. However, as our English Devolution White Paper sets out, we are now moving to a different model of regional collaboration, where we are keen to support new models driven by local leaders.

What steps he is taking to reduce the amount paid by his Department in clinical negligence costs.

The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experiences of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point.

What steps he is taking to ensure that NHS contracts with hospices reflect the (a) cost of the services provided and (b) the needs of local populations.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place.Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations also play.The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her European counterparts on collective sanctions against Russia.

Exerting maximum economic pressure on Russia is a central part of our support for Ukraine, and our best tool to force Putin to de-escalate the war and engage in meaningful talks. The UK continues to lead international efforts, including coordination with our European and US partners. Together, we have sanctioned major Russian oil companies, including Rosneft and Gazprom Neft, and sanctioned over 500 Russian shadow fleet vessels.

How many pensioners have lost entitlement to Pension Credit as a result of their calculated entitlement being short by 50p or less.

The Department does not hold information about the total income and circumstances of all pensioners. That is why we ask people to apply for pension credit rather than being able to make awards automatically.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing the level of funding available for demand responsive transport and (b) introducing bus concessions for people up to the age of 22.

The Government knows how important affordable and reliable bus services are in enabling people to access education, work and vital services, and we are committed to delivering better bus services, including in rural areas right across the country. As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government allocated over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 2025/26 and keep fares affordable. This includes £712 million for local authorities that can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Devon County Council and Somerset Council have been allocated £11.6 million and £6.8 million of this funding respectively. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including introducing or expanding demand responsive transport provision in the area, or measures to reduce fares for young people. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review, confirming additional funding per year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned switchover from landlines to digital technologies by January 2027 on rural households without broadband.

The Government is committed to ensuring any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers. No formal assessment has been made of the impact of the PSTN migration on rural households without broadband. In order to function correctly, VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5Mbps, meaning that a broadband connection will not be required.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the English indices of deprivation to include rurality as a factor.

The most recent iteration of the English Indices of Deprivation was published in September 2019 and all data tables and resources are available online here - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019 The department is currently working on an update and confirmed recently that the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 will be published within a provisional October/November 2025 timeframe. This has been published on GOV.UK. As part of this work, DEFRA has contributed funding to investigate rural deprivation. This collaborative project is considering what deprivation in rural areas is, data sources and methods to help quantify it and more formal guidance on the use of the Indices and their application to rural areas. A report on rural deprivation will form part of the updated English Indices of Deprivation release.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for specialised rural crime teams.

Rural crime can also have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector. This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit, a national policing unit which help forces tackle rural crime priorities and is a great example of farmers and police working together at national and local level.Under our Safer Streets Mission reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft, anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will also ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses. This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by Spring next year, as part of our ambition to deliver 13,000 neighbourhood officers into police forces across England and Wales by the end of this parliament.We worked closely with policing to develop the Neighbourhood Policing Programme. Our approach to delivery in 2025/26, which is year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible, and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands police forces face. The precise workforce mix is therefore a local decision.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the size of the backlog on Valuation Office Agency decisions.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is working as quickly as possible to clear cases, and moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand. The VOA is focusing on the oldest cases first, and where customers are facing financial hardship. The VOA is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies. It is also upskilling its workforce to ensure there is flexibility in managing a wide range of cases and improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve.

Whether she has had recent discussions with retailers on the safety and security of people who are lone working in stores.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for workplace health and safety in Great Britain. However, the primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity and to take appropriate action if employees report any health and safety concerns. Local authorities are responsible for the regulation of health and safety in most retail businesses. They can use criteria such as injury rates, trends, numbers and demographics of people at risk and implementation of effective control measures to inform their interventions, and ensure compliance with regulations. HSE does not collect this data centrally. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. HSE provide guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE which includes advice on violence in the workplace. This guidance was updated in 2022 and remains fit for purpose. HSE has no plans to commission a review or discuss with retailers the safety of lone workers in stores.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of rural crime.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime.The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime, ensuring timely charging decisions and effective prosecutions.The Government announced earlier this year that both Units, which the Home Office funds, will receive over £800,000 to continue their important work.The CPS provides legal guidance on Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases, and specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.The CPS has also recently appointed a national lead on rural crime who heads up a network of Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime Champions across the CPS, to work with organisations with an interest in tackling all forms of wildlife, rural and heritage crime.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including pet treatments as a significant source of pesticides as part of the UK Pesticides National Action Plan 2025.

The UK pesticides National Action Plan 2025 (NAP) was published in March 2025. The NAP relates to plant protection products and therefore does not cover pet treatments. The NAP introduces a UK domestic target to reduce the potential harm from pesticides to the environment by 10% by 2030. This target is specifically focused on the arable agricultural sector, which accounts for approximately 90% of pesticide use in agriculture and horticulture. Veterinary medicines are regulated under a separate legislative framework to pesticides: the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) 2013, as amended. These regulations ensure that all veterinary medicines undergo rigorous scientific assessment, including environmental risk assessments, before being authorised for use. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has formed the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (PiE) Group as a UK cross-government platform to enable discussion and knowledge exchange relating to pharmaceuticals in the environment from human, veterinary and, where there is cross over, agricultural and non-agricultural sources. They have recently set out a roadmap of activities to address the levels of fipronil and imidacloprid detected in UK waterways.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle human health risks associated with spot on pet treatments containing (a) fipronil and (b) imidacloprid.

Veterinary Medicinal Products (VMPs) undergo a thorough assessment by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) before they are authorised for marketing in the UK. This includes a product-specific user risk assessment that considers all those that may come into contact with the medicine, including adults and children. This assessment considers the identified hazards of the medicine, the likely exposure to adults and children when VMPs are used as recommended and concludes on the likely risks to humans. The identified risks are mitigated using appropriate packaging and user safety warnings on the product information supplied with the medicines. Once authorised for marketing, pharmacovigilance reporting provides further data from use of these medicines in real-world situations, and these data are used to consider any changes required to reduce identified risks, such as updating the user safety warnings. All VMPs are authorised based on a Benefit:Risk assessment, which accounts for the therapeutic benefits to the treated animals, the potential for reduction of zoonotic diseases in humans, and the possible risks identified to humans and animals. The benefits must outweigh the risks before a product can be authorised and may be removed from the market if shown that this is not the case after authorisation.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that supported housing demand is met.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Questions UIN 69642 on 4 September 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure adequate external scrutiny of the Child Poverty Strategy.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is co-chair, has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform the development of an ambitious child poverty strategy.The Taskforce is also supported by an Analytical Expert Reference Group which brings together independent external expertise from leading universities, think tanks, and organisations to provide advice and scrutiny.External partners, including devolved governments, local leaders, academia, business and civil society, all have a role to play in tackling child poverty, and the department will set out the importance of these continuing partnerships when the strategy is published in the autumn.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of maternity care.

While there are outstanding examples of care in NHS maternity services, we know this is not the experience that all women have, and there are significant issues that need addressing.The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently announced an independent Investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care. It began its work this summer and will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025. The Secretary of State also announced the establishment of a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce that will use the recommendations from the Investigation to develop a national plan, with families and partners, to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.We are also taking a set of immediate action to start delivering the changes needed.These include actions to boost accountability and safety as part of the Government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future, and actions to hold the system to account. Specific actions include embedding a system to better identify safety concerns, rolling out a programme to all trusts to tackle discrimination and racism, and new best practice standards in maternal mortality. Although significantly more action is required, there has been some good progress made in a range of areas. They include:- Achieving full population coverage of Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services for women with or at risk of mental health issues;- Rollout to every Trust in England of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, helping to reduce still births and pre-term birth;- As of June 2025, there are 24,888 full time equivalent midwives working in NHS Trusts and other core organisations in England. This is an increase of 1,326 (5.6%) compared to June 2024. There are also over 3,000 full time equivalent Obstetrics and gynaecology’ consultants working in NHS Trusts and other core organisations in England. This is over 100 (4.8%) more compared to June 2024; and- Nationally rolling out a new programme to reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth, following a successful pilot.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase levels of funding available for farmers.

We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. We are investing more than £2.7 billion a year in farming and nature recovery, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history to put healthy, nutritious food on our tables. We are working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. That's only part of our commitment to farmers. We have also protected farmers in trade deals and provided a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker route, giving farms certainty to grow their businesses. We are using our own purchasing power to back British produce, with an ambition, where possible, for half of food supplied into the public sector to be produced locally or certified to high environmental standards. We are reforming the planning system to support clean energy projects that align with our Clean Power 2030 ambitions, helping farm businesses to become more profitable and resilient.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support food security.

Food security is national security. We need a resilient and healthy food system, that works with nature and supports British farmers, fishers and food producers. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change we are delivering on the Government’s New Deal for Farmers which includes a raft of new policies and major investment to boost profits for farmers. We've allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament.

What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to tackle violence against women and girls.

Equalities Ministers and their officials are working closely with the Home Office, and other Government departments to develop a cross-government strategy on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), to be published in the Autumn.