Written questions by Niblett.

For what reason older people under 75 are not eligible for the NHS covid-19 autumn booster in 2025.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert committee which reviews the latest data on COVID-19 risks, vaccine safety, and effectiveness and advises the department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The JCVI has published advice for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in autumn 2025, spring 2026, autumn 2026, and spring 2027. The Government has accepted JCVI advice for autumn 2025. The Government is considering the JCVI’s advice for 2026 and spring 2027 carefully and will respond in due course.The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious disease (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.Therefore, in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to:adults aged 75 years and over;residents in a care home for older adults;individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book).

What steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure nursing graduates can find Band 5 roles upon graduation and (b) increase the number of roles for newly registered nurses.

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The Guarantee will ensure there are enough positions for every newly qualified nurse in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 72246 on Litter: Fast Food, if his Department will ensure that packaging from fast food outlets is marked by the outlet with the car registration of the customer using Automatic Number Plate Recognition.

We do not intend to require fast food outlets to implement a vehicle registration number printing system for packaging. Guidance published by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government clarifies the powers available to councils to ensure new hot food takeaways do not increase the impact of litter on local communities. The latest guidance is available here: Healthy and safe communities - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support people who have purchased a new home and subsequently believe they have been mis sold.

The government expects all housebuilders to deliver good quality homes, and we know that the vast majority do so. When things do go wrong, the government expects housebuilders to make things right.To help customers resolve issues with new homes which developers have been unable or unwilling to fix, the government has committed to establishing a statutory UK-wide New Homes Ombudsman to investigate and resolve complaints and provide new home buyers with effective redress. We will set out further details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if the Class F exemption for The Council Tax Exempt Dwelling Order 1992 will be extended to include properties where the conclusion or Final Order has been made on an Inheritance Act 1975 claim and the property is ordered to be vacated.

When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to use technology to apprehend (a) fly tippers and (b) other people dropping litter across the countryside.

Local authorities are usually best placed to respond to fly-tipping and littering problems in their area, and we encourage them to make good use of the enforcement powers at their disposal. We are conducting a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool, such as by using innovative techniques like drones and mobile CCTV cameras. Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including local authorities, to share good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping, including on private land. The NFTPG has developed various practical tools including best practice case studies highlighting the use of technology such as CCTV to tackle fly-tipping. These are available at: https://nftpg.com/.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring all packaging from fast food outlets is marked by the outlet with the car registration of the customer using ANPR to trace back littering to the perpetrator.

This Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring all packaging from fast food outlets is marked by the outlet with the car registration of the customer or the use of ANPR to trace back littering to the perpetrator.

If she will take steps to require the Joint Council for Qualifications to ensure that all exam regulatory boards action requests for a name change following marriage.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for South Derbyshire directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Whether he has issued guidance to people affected by multiple planning applications for (a) battery energy storage systems and (b) solar storage near to their villages that have been approved by him.

As Minister for Energy, I do not personally approve any individual planning applications. The Department approves energy projects classified as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, and the process is governed by the Planning Act 2008, which includes some large solar farms, including those with batter storage systems attached. Stand-alone battery energy storage systems are not classed as nationally significant infrastructure. Guidance for nationally significant infrastructure project projects is available on Planning Inspectorate website, including how local communities can engage with the examination process, register as an interest party and raise concerns about proposed developments.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of restrictive software licensing practices on (a) efficiency and (b) innovation in businesses.

There are currently no plans to make such an assessment by the Department. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is examining software licensing practices as part of its market investigation into cloud services. Its final report must be published by 4 August and Government will review the CMA's findings.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Competition and Markets Authority’s 5.6% budget reduction on (a) investigating and (b) challenging restrictive software licensing practices.

The June Spending Review set out the CMA's budget from 2026/27. The CMA has embarked on an operational transformation programme to ensure it can continue to deliver impactful outcomes, including in digital markets, while operating within its multi-year funding envelope.The CMA's priorities across its work are set out in its Annual Plan 2025/26, which commits to using the new digital markets competition regime flexibly, proportionately and collaboratively to unlock opportunities for growth across the UK tech sector and the wider economy.

What assessment the Office for Value for Money has made of the potential impact of restrictive licensing practices on Departmental spend on digital transformation.

The Office for Value for Money (OVfM) is a time limited unit in HM Treasury that was set two roles at Autumn Budget 2024: making targeted interventions at Spending Review 2025 and developing recommendations for reforming the spending framework. The OVfM has not made an assessment of the potential impact of restrictive licensing practices on departmental spend on digital transformation. Given the OVfM is a small, time limited team, it has needed to focus on a limited set of issues, deploying resources efficiently to target areas where the it can have most impact. Officials across departments consider the value for money of specific policies and external interactions using existing tools.

What proportion of the £10 billion NHS technology investment will be spent on software licensing.

The information requested is not available.

Whether his Department is reviewing (a) the legal framework supporting working parents of children with additional and (b) potential reforms to that legal framework to help improve levels of (i) access to flexible working, (ii) protection from discrimination by association and (iii) availability of adapted childcare support.

The Employment Rights Bill will make flexible working the default, including for working parents. Employers will have to accept flexible working requests unless not reasonably feasible and explain their decision if rejecting requests.The Equality Act 2010 protects people from direct discrimination “by association”.The Dedicated Schools Grant funds special educational and alternative provision. Local authorities distribute SEN Inclusion Funding. Disability Access Funding (DAF) is designed to support disabled children's access to entitlements. In 2025-26, DAF funding will increase to £938 per eligible child. The Government is reviewing SEN funding, looking at funding arrangements and considering whether changes are needed.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 55786 on Public Sector: Digital Technology, whether his Department’s digital transformation strategy will include the (a) financial impact of software assets on departmental budgets and (b) impact of identified dependencies on those assets on cost efficiencies.

The State of Digital Government review, A blueprint for modern digital government and the Performance Review of Digital Spend, all published this year, have highlighted the need to reform digital purchasing.The Government has launched a Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence, containing experts from the Digital and Commercial Functions, within the Government Digital Service (GDS) in my department. It is pursuing multiple strategies to improve value for money and outcomes including central buying of commodity services, development of a digital sourcing strategy, creation of technical enablers and joined-up management of strategic digital suppliers.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 55785 on Public Sector: Digital Technology, what discussions his Department has had with the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence on the impact of software licensing for Government software procurement on the digital transformation strategy.

The State of Digital Government review, A blueprint for modern digital government and the Performance Review of Digital Spend, all published this year, have highlighted the need to reform digital purchasing.The Government has launched a Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence, containing experts from the Digital and Commercial Functions, within the Government Digital Service (GDS) in my department. It is pursuing multiple strategies to improve value for money and outcomes including central buying of commodity services, development of a digital sourcing strategy, creation of technical enablers and joined-up management of strategic digital suppliers.

Pursuant to the Answer on 4 June 2025 to Question 55787 on Government Departments: Software, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 on (a) software licencing and (b) the Government's procurement of software.

The Competition and Markets Authority has been awarded enhanced powers by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (“DMCC”) Act 2024 to protect UK consumers and businesses from unfair or harmful practices by the very largest technology firms.The DMCC Act enables the CMA to provide opportunities to encourage the benefits of investment and innovation from the largest digital firms, while ensuring a level playing-field for the many start-ups and scale-ups across the UK tech sector. This should promote greater innovation, more choice and more competitive process across the sector benefiting UK businesses, consumers and government.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the new powers for the Competition and Markets Authority in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 to tackle restrictive software licensing on (a) consumers, (b) businesses and (c) the wider economy.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has empowered the Competition and Markets Authority to designate firms which exert significant control in respect of digital activities with “Strategic Market Status” (SMS), following an evidence-based assessment.The CMA can carry out investigations to determine the most appropriate remedies for a specific competition concern. Remedies will ensure designated firms treat businesses and consumers fairly, promote more dynamic markets and help new competitors enter the market. The CMA has already exercised its new powers by launching three SMS investigations into large technology firms in January this year.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of comedy within social prescribing.

The Department recognises the value that social prescribing can play in supporting people’s health and wellbeing. This includes activities such as the creative arts, as well as cultural activities.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK comedy industry on (a) the economy and (b) society.

While the Department has not carried out any recent assessments of the impact of the UK comedy industry, the government recognises the sector as a vital performing art which forms part of this country's cultural landscape, enriching lives, and shaping our collective identity. British comedy also generates substantial economic returns, with a recent Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Live Comedy estimating that the live sector generates £1 billion annually.Our arms-length body, Arts Council England (ACE) funds numerous organisations and venues that support comedy. Between the financial years covering 2010/11 to 2024/25 ACE has awarded £12,296,254 in funding where an applicant name, project title or subclassifier contains the word “comedy”. In addition, DCMS will be convening a roundtable discussion in the coming months to hear about issues currently impacting this sector.