Written questions by Savage.

Whether the updated school food standards will include measures to increase the intake of UK-grown (a) fruit, (b) vegetables and (c) pulses in school meals.

The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. The current Standards state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week. Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards.Additionally, the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high quality British producers are well-placed to meet.Alongside this, the department’s Food Strategy will deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting food security, improving health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.As with all aspects of the School Food Standards review, the department will consider our approaches to procurement of UK-grown produce.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mandatory food waste reporting in Austria on (a) food waste reduction levels, (b) businesses and (c) food inflation.

The Government has announced its plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis, one of which is agri-food.As part of this work, evidence for action from right across the economy will be considered and evaluated in terms of what interventions may be needed, including introducing a mandatory food waste reporting requirement for large food businesses.No assessment of the potential impact of mandatory food waste reporting in Austria has been made.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timeline is for mandating food waste reporting.

The Government has announced its plans to publish a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis, one of which is agri-food.As part of this work, evidence for action from right across the economy will be considered and evaluated in terms of what interventions may be needed, including introducing a mandatory food waste reporting requirement for large food businesses.No assessment of the potential impact of mandatory food waste reporting in Austria has been made.

What steps he is taking to ensure NHS GP surgeries process private medical paperwork in a timely manner; and whether his Department plans to issue updated guidance to prevent administrative delays that could adversely affect patient outcomes.

We are working across Government to cut red tape and improve ways of working, including work to improve the patient experience, such as streamlining or removing the need to request unnecessary medical evidence and paperwork where possible.Some medical paperwork is not included within the GP Contract and is therefore outside of core National Health Service work. It may attract charges in the same way some medical evidence letters, certificates, and reports are chargeable.There are currently no plans to develop further guidance around handling private medical requests. The British Medical Association provides guidance to general practitioners on its website on fees for medical evidence, and on general practice responsibility in responding to private health care.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce waiting times for practical driving tests, (b) increase the availability of driving test examiners and (c) expand access to test centres in (i) South Cotswolds constituency and (ii) other rural areas.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain, including those in rural areas.Further information on these actions and progress on DVSA’s 7-point plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.DVSA’s 7-point plan included recruiting and training 450 driving examiners (DE). In its recent recruitment campaign, DVSA advertised for three DEs for Swindon, Cheltenham and Gloucester. DVSA’s recent recruitment activity in the area has resulted in:three DEs waiting to begin training; andone DE completing pre-employment checks.Additionally, the agency has one DE transferring into Gloucester from another test centre.Should applicants successfully complete the required training, this will increase the number of DEs working in those test centres to 28, from 20.DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to change the 10% commission charge which affects park home owners.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44299 on 16 April 2025.

What steps his Department has taken to ensure that children with (a) complex SEND and (b) escalating behavioural needs have timely access to suitable residential education placements when local day settings are unable to meet their needs; and what support is available to families (i) experiencing delays in placement decisions and (ii) for whom safeguarding or health risks have been identified.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).The department has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year. The funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible for children with SEND, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with education, health and care plan timeliness, including placement decisions. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan.Free support and advice for families and local authorities is provided by Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Services.Where there are concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing, support from social care services may be required. Under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, it is the general duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, including disabled children, and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs. Where appropriate, social care services may be provided in conjunction with an educational placement such as a residential special school.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of properties that undergo significant structural extensions but remain in their original council tax banding due to legislative restrictions on revaluation on local authority revenues.

Improvements to properties, such as extensions, are not generally taken into account for council tax banding purposes until the property is sold. The government believes it is right that people are not deterred from improving their home by the prospect of their council tax increasing. When the property is sold, the council tax band may increase, but only if the alterations have added sufficient value to push the property into a higher band. The government does not have any plans to change this policy.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the financial history of Macquarie Asset Management; and what weight is given to past financial performance in the assessment process for major energy infrastructure applications.

The Government does not comment on individual applications. Any applicant seeking development consent for an energy-related nationally significant infrastructure project must submit a Funding Statement as part of the application process. The Funding Statement is reviewed by the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State for adequacy of funding to cover the applicant’s liabilities for the project. Past financial performance does not hold any weight when the Secretary of State considers the overall planning balance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent early years statutory guidance changes on the financial sustainability of (a) private and (b) voluntary childcare providers.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.As the early years entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important they remain accessible and affordable for families. The department updated the early years statutory guidance to ensure there is clarity for parents, providers and local authorities about additional charges associated with entitlement hours.The statutory guidance also emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed onto parents, including that any costs should be clearer on invoices and websites. However, for these new transparency expectations, the guidance allows a lead-in time until January 2026 to give providers time to adapt.Government funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals, nappies or sun cream or additional activities, such as trips, so providers are able to ask parents to pay for these. However, in line with a recent high court judgment, these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place. The high court judgement is accessible here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2025/224. This guidance must reflect the law governing the delivery of the early education and childcare entitlements, which has not changed.

What steps she is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) accessibility of electric vehicle charge points in (i) rural areas and villages and (ii) the South Cotswolds.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV).The South Cotswolds constituency will benefit from both Gloucestershire County Council’s £3.7m and Wiltshire Council’s £4.4m capital and resource funding as part of the £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, to transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking in the area. The LEVI Fund is expected to leverage significant further private investment and support the installation of at least 100,000 local chargepoints across England.LEVI funding allocations factored in the proportion of residents within the local authority that are in rural areas. This means local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.A range of Government grants are also available to support the installation of charging infrastructure in homes, workplaces and schools: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/electric-vehicle-chargepoint-grants.

If he will take steps to support vulnerable people with (a) anxiety, (b) depression and (c) other mental health issues as a result of (i) extreme weather events and (ii) climate change.

National Health Service mental health services are available to support the mental health of vulnerable people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues as a result of extreme weather events and climate change. They can access evidence-based mental health treatment via their general practitioner or by self-referring to their local NHS Talking Therapies service, with details on how to do so available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/nhs-talking-therapies/

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) reduce microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems and (b) support local authorities to (i) monitor and (ii) manage microplastic waste.

At home and abroad, the UK is taking action to develop our understanding of the microplastic problem and to prevent and reduce microplastic pollution. Microplastics are used in a range of applications and are produced from the degradation of plastic products. Plastic pellets are the feedstock for the production of plastic products, and can be lost throughout the supply chain. To tackle this issue, we have supported the development of a Publicly Available Specification by the British Standards Institution (PAS 510:2021), which sets out the steps companies should take to reduce the loss of plastic pellets across their operations. Technical experts from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) have also been leading the Oslo and Paris Convention (OSPAR) Convention to develop a new indicator for microlitter (including microplastics) in seafloor sediments. This will help us to track progress in reducing plastics in the environment at a regional scale. The UK also contributes to the OSPAR Microplastic Expert Group, which is examining ways that we can better detect and quantify microplastics in samples taken for research. Finally, in negotiations to establish a new international treaty on plastic pollution, the UK has called for binding provisions to reduce and prevent microplastic pollution from all sources. In particular, the UK has called for specific provisions to prevent and eliminate emissions and releases of plastic pellets, flakes and powder across the whole supply chain.

How his Department plans to allocate the £102 million of funding to expand and update GP premises; and whether the Tolsey surgery in Sherston will receive funding.

On Tuesday 6 May, we announced which primary care schemes are in line to receive funding from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-care-utilisation-and-modernisation-fund-2025-to-2026The fund will deliver upgrades to more than a thousand general practice surgeries across England, which will improve the use of existing buildings and spaces, enabling improved productivity, with practices able to deliver an estimated eight million more patient appointments each year.We have made sure that every single region across the country receives part of the funding, so benefits are felt nationwide. Decisions were made based on the highest priority of need and where the investment would quickly create additional clinical space, specifically to deliver more appointments. Tolsey surgery in Sherston did not meet these criteria as strongly as other schemes within the integrated care board’s area, and it has therefore not been selected for this year’s funding.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had on the development of the Land Use Framework with (a) farmers and (b) landowners in South Cotswolds constituency.

The consultation on land use in England closed on the 25th April. The Government is considering responses to the consultation. These responses will inform a Land Use Framework for England. The consultation process included events with farmers and other land managers held across England over the twelve-week consultation period. This included an event organised by a partner organised on behalf of Defra in Cirencester.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps she has taken to help ensure the effectiveness of reforms to permitted development rights for farms in South Cotswolds constituency since the Oxford farming conference 2025.

The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to develop the new Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the new scheme on farmers in South Cotswolds constituency.

The future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer will build on what has made SFI effective so far. Defra will be working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future SFI offer that fairly and responsibly directs funding. Further details about the reformed SFI offer will be announced following the spending review in summer 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support citizen science projects on (a) flooding and (b) sewage.

Defra has a strong history of working with citizen scientists, particularly volunteer species recorders who have provided over 70% of Government biodiversity data. The growth of citizen science across cities, the countryside, and rivers, driven by technology and social networks, has resulted in fragmented efforts and resource competition. This complex landscape often sees short-lived and difficult-to-support initiatives. The Defra Natural Capital & Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) Programme includes specific research and development to advance Defra and stakeholder engagement with citizen science. Freshwater permeates our landscapes and cities providing a powerful medium through which we can monitor important elements of our natural capital. We have identified 112 existing freshwater citizen science methods. Much of this focuses on rivers, but we are also advancing lake and pond survey capability. Trials have already found 515 new ponds in test cities and online volunteers mapped open water across Northumberland. Freshwater methods will feature within integrated survey designs we are working to trial with stakeholders across various landscapes and cities. A key goal of NCEA research is to explore how best to support environmental citizen science to enhance both national science and public engagement with the environment. The Environment Agency (EA) has recruited citizen science coordinators that are embedded in front-line teams. This is creating strong relationships with citizen science groups and a large collaborative effort is underway to ensure the data derived from citizen science can be added to the EA’s data. Citizen science initiatives focused on sewage and wider catchment pressures include Riverfly, The Big River Watch, Great UK WaterBlitz, and SmartRivers. An example relevant to flooding is the Daily Rainfall Observers Network.

Food and Rural Affairs, what nature-based flooding solutions he plans to implement in South Cotswolds constituency.

Gloucestershire County Council, as Lead Local Flood Authority, coordinates a natural flood management partnership which plans Nature Based Solutions (NBS) projects across the county, including a scheme upstream of Cirencester to re-naturalise The Churn. The Environment Agency (EA) funds and works with partners on NBS projects on the Upper Bristol Avon. Upstream of Malmesbury, the EA works with Bristol Avon Rivers Trust and on the Brinkworth Brook it is working with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust on the Wiltshire Rural Runoff Project. This project includes significant landowner engagement to raise awareness of NBS and opportunities to enhance sustainable land management practices, improve river habitat and water quality. NBS measures upstream of Malmesbury will contribute towards reducing the height of flood peaks and will benefit properties at risk of flooding. The Brinkworth Brook project includes measures that could mitigate some flooding issues in the M4 corridor but will not stop flooding during larger events. The EA is also keeping track of the small beaver population around Malmesbury, which are likely contribute positively to NBS in the future.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Government response to the Office for Environmental Protection’s report on progress in improving the natural environment in England from January 2024, published on 14 January 2025, what progress the cross-Government working group to support effective implementation of the environmental principles policy statement has made.

The Cross-Government working group to support the implementation of the Environmental Principles Policy Statement Duty (EPPS) has been actively coordinating efforts across various departments to ensure that the environmental principles are integrated into policy-making processes. The Office for Environmental Protection also published a report on the implementation of EPPS and the government will be responding to that report soon.