Written questions by Foord.

What recent discussions he has with international allies on the provision of arms and resources to Ukraine.

The Secretary of State for Defence regularly holds discussions with international partners on how to best support Ukraine, including at the recent NATO Defence Ministers meeting. This includes regular discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart. At the last Ukraine Defence Contact Group in September, Allies committed to continue their support for Ukraine, both in the immediate fight and for the long term.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that the vulnerabilities that children experience in relation to climate change are (a) acknowledged and (b) addressed in Nationally Determined Contributions.

The UK is committed to supporting the most vulnerable, including children, who are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis, and working together with partners to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. For example, through UK support to the NDC Partnership, the global coalition for coordinating support for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), we will enable up to 40 countries to strengthen the ambition, quality and investability of their NDCs ahead of COP30. The NDC Partnership is committed to supporting a country-driven process to advance youth engagement in NDC implementation. The UK has just launched its own new, ambitious 1.5C-aligned 2035 NDC. The Government has consulted with civil society and youth groups to advance the policies on which our NDC target is based.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mobile network providers maintain (a) reliable coverage and (b) service quality in rural areas.

Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage. That is why our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025 through the Shared Rural Network programme.Ofcom is responsible for measuring and reporting on mobile network coverage. Far too often the data published by Ofcom does not match consumers’ experience of using mobile networks. I recently wrote to Ofcom asking them to set out steps to improve their mobile coverage reporting.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a mental health absence code for children with (a) autism and (b) other neurodivergent conditions who are unable to attend school due to mental health crises; and what steps her Department is taking to help support these pupils.

Tackling absence is at the heart of the department’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. Poor mental health and inadequate access to support are real challenges facing children today and have a detrimental impact on their school attendance, reinforcing barriers to opportunity. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families to address attendance barriers. This guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf. The department is committed to providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also deliver Young Futures Hubs, providing every community with an open-access hub for children and young people. In addition, we are conducting an expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review to ensure that every child has access to a curriculum that is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative and supports their future life and work. Illness, both physical and mental health related, is marked using the I code in the register. The department does not think that requiring schools to determine whether illness is mental or physical would be practically workable, given that schools cannot and should not diagnose a pupil’s illness.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support businesses in rural areas.

The Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available, and community assets protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000. The specific challenges and opportunities that make rural economies distinctive can be harnessed through funds such as the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which will provide up to £110 million in targeted support to rural businesses and communities in England between April 2023 and March 2025. We know farmers require stability, which is why we are committed to Environmental Land Management schemes and will optimise schemes in an orderly way, ensuring they produce the right outcomes for all farmers, while delivering food security and nature recovery in a just and equitable way. We will also support farmers by offering a new deal, including cutting energy prices by setting up GB Energy, ensuring future trade deals are fairer for British farmers, and procuring more British produce in Government. Spending on rural businesses and farming in future financial years will be confirmed as part of the Government’s spending review.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support wine importers with additional administrative requirements following the ending of the temporary easement to the implementation of the new alcohol duty system in February 2025.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume. To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the current, temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume. By the planned end-date of 31 January 2025, the wine industry will have had over two years to adapt to the new strength-based system.

If she will take steps to ensure that people with incomes (a) that fluctuate and (b) from multiple sources are accurately assessed for Universal Credit; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (i) savings and (ii) earnings thresholds for Universal Credit.

Wherever possible, employed earnings are received through the Real Time Information (RTI) system used by employers to report Pay As You Earn (PAYE) data to HMRC (His Majesty s Revenue and Customs). RTI enables a customer’s Universal Credit award to be automatically adjusted to reflect their earnings each month, which eases the reporting burden on customers. If earnings are not reported through RTI for any reason, the customer needs to self-report their earnings. Unearned income such as pension payments and certain benefits, including new style Jobseeker’s Allowance or new style Employment and Support Allowance are taken into account when calculating Universal Credit entitlement. Where these are not paid monthly they are calculated as a monthly equivalent. This is to reflect the Universal Credit monthly assessment period and to ‘smooth’ the calculation of award. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and State Pensions. The outcome of the Secretary of State’s review will be announced in the usual way.

With the reference to the UN Inquiry into the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the UK, published in October 2016, what steps she is taking to help protect the human rights of disabled people.

This government is committed to boosting opportunity and protecting the rights of disabled people. We will work closely with disabled people and their representative organisations to ensure that their needs and voices are at the heart of everything we do. As a first step, our Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for disabled people and disability pay gap reporting for large employers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the planned switch from the Public Switched Telephone Network to Voice over Internet Protocol does not compromise (a) national security and (b) critical communications during emergencies.

Since the general election I have worked with other departments and industry in an effort to ensure that the industry’s necessary retirement of the Public Switched Telephone Network does not compromise national security, and that vulnerable people and others retain connectivity during emergencies. The Department holds quarterly cross-Government engagement groups to discuss switchover risks, to which all Government departments and Devolved Administrations are invited. I intend to hold a further meeting soon with all operators and stakeholders to ensure risks are minimised.Ofcom ensures that companies identify, prepare for, and reduce the risk of anything that compromises the availability, performance, or functionality of their network or service, including during emergencies, as required by the Communications Act 2003 and the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of calorie labelling on menus on (a) obesity, (b) the prevalence of eating disorders and (c) other issues.

Legislation requiring large businesses in England, those with 250 or more employees, to display calorie information on non-prepacked food and soft drinks came into force in 2022. It aims to support consumers to make healthier choices for themselves and their families when eating out or getting a takeaway, with clear information about the calorie content of potential purchases. It may also encourage businesses to reformulate and provide lower calorie options, helping to create a healthier food environment.The published impact assessment estimated that by lowering calorie consumption amongst people living with overweight or obesity, the policy would produce National Health Service savings of £430 million and social care savings of £477 million over 25 years.We continue to evaluate the impact of the Out of Home Calorie Labelling Regulations, including on people living with eating disorders. We will publish a post-implementation review within five years of implementation which will consider the effectiveness of the policy.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of access to NHS dentistry on diagnosis rates of routine mouth cancers.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of the level of access to National Health Service dentistry on the diagnosis rates of routine mouth cancers. Dentists and other dental professionals, including hygienists, routinely check the soft tissues of a patient’s mouth for signs of cancer during dental visits, and as part of the check-up will make an assessment and record of an individual’s oral cancer risk.Dentists will prioritise patients at a higher risk of oral cancer for more frequent recall and review, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance. Members of the public who are worried about their oral health in relation to cancer should seek advice from their dentist or general practitioner. Patients with symptoms of concern should be assessed and offered an urgent dental appointment based upon clinical need, in line with advice from NHS England.

What criteria are used to prioritise patients on NHS dental waiting lists; and whether older people are given priority.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and to recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, and there is no single waiting list, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly and may operate local waiting list arrangements. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS website profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS 111.The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Honiton and Sidmouth constituency, this is the NHS One Devon ICB.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the condition of NHS hospital equipment.

The Darzi review made it clear that the NHS has been starved of capital, with outdated scanners and is 15 years behind the independent sector in its use of technology.We will make the NHS fit for the future, replacing outdated equipment and providing hospitals with the latest technology.This will provide quicker, more effective, efficient diagnosis and a better experience for patients.

With reference to the National Association of Funeral Directors report entitled Picking up the pieces, published in April 2023, if she will (a) make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that report's findings on the number of families that have waited more than four weeks for a funeral and (b) hold discussions with local authorities on coordinating work between (i) health services, (ii) coroners, (iii) undertakers and (iv) others highlighted in that report.

Death management is a complex and sensitive area, spanning the work of multiple government departments. Whilst the Government does not have operational responsibility for the provision of funeral services, we are aware of funeral delays in some areas and acknowledge that these are often exacerbated by pressures from within the wider death management system. Death management policy sits across a number of government departments and responsible departments take a collaborative approach to addressing concerns in this area and are committed to continuing to work together, and with local authorities, to improve timeliness and services provided to the bereaved.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses in rural areas.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. Over half a million business are registered in rural areas, with the rural economy contributing over £315 billion a year to England alone. The Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. To achieve this, we are ensuring that the needs of people and businesses in rural areas are at the heart of policymaking. That starts with delivering a new deal for farmers including cutting energy prices by setting up GB energy, ensuring future trade deals are fairer for British farmers, and procuring more British produce in Government.