Written questions by Bool.

How much Government funding to the National Wealth Fund is unspent.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of tariffs on US ethanol imports on the UK's bioethanol industry.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of green hydrogen from ammonia.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on increasing domestic production of fertilisers on energy security.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the domestic production of ammonia.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made towards establishing a national fertiliser recording system.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with industry to make organic manures and slurries pelletisable.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on UK CBAM for fertilisers and ammonia.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to recommendation R/2026/074 of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body Report 'Insulin: supporting safe self-administration in vulnerable patient groups in the community with a mental health problem', what steps his department is taking to improve collaboration between mental health teams and specialist diabetes services.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help support farmer cash flow and access to credit.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans her Department has made for red diesel availability and costs if the conflict in Iran becomes a long-term issue.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the availability of fertiliser, including in response to sudden increases in demand.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the impact of changes to red diesel prices during peak harvest season.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to support the agri-food sector.

The development and adoption of innovative UK agri-technologies is key to supporting the UK agri-food sector to boost farm productivity and economic growth. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Defra work closely together to support the sector. This includes the Defra-funded Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) which is delivered by UKRI and provides grants to support innovative technologies and practices which increase farming productivity, sustainability and resilience. This Government will allocate at least £200m to FIP by 2030. This Government is also supporting the development of robotics, automation and AI which have the potential to increase productivity and reduce labour needs in agriculture and horticulture. The Regulatory Innovation Office, part of DSIT announced Robotics as one of its priorities this year and will be working with Defra on issues for the Agri-tech sector.

What discussions he has had with the NHS Business Services Authority on extending the duration of Medical Exemption Certificates for those with long-term conditions.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has had no such discussions.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a graduated driving license.

We have had to strike a balance between protecting young people and not overly impacting their opportunities to access work and education and social activities. Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driver Licensing with further restrictions on newly qualified drivers such as carrying passengers or driving at night, we are consulting on a Minimum Learning Period in England, Scotland, and Wales before learner drivers can take their test. This would allow learners more time to gain essential experience, for example in different weather conditions, before driving independently and so reduce the risk to themselves and other drivers. We know that introducing a Minimum Learning Period has potential to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries. This is why we are consulting on the introduction of pre-test measures and combining these with the post-test measures already in place through the New Drivers Act. The New Drivers Act has a form of “probationary period” of 2 years for novice drivers of all ages in Great Britain. During this time, instead of the standard 12 points, if 6 or more points are received, including in the learning period, a driver's licence is revoked and they must apply again for a provisional licence, re-entering the learning stage. Additionally, we are considering further post-test measures as part of the motoring offences consultation, where views are being sought on a lower blood alcohol limit for novice drivers in England and Wales.

What evidence her Department considered on graduated driving licenses as part of the Road Safety Strategy; and whether she will publish that evidence.

We used published and publicly available evidence in developing young driver policy in the Road Safety Strategy. Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driver Licensing with further restrictions on newly qualified drivers such as carrying passengers or driving at night, we are consulting on a Minimum Learning Period in England, Scotland, and Wales before learner drivers can take their test. We know that introducing a Minimum Learning Period has potential to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries. This is why we are consulting on the introduction of pre-test measures and combining these with the post-test measures already in place through the New Drivers Act. Additionally, we are considering further post-test measures as part of the motoring offences consultation, where views are being sought on a lower blood alcohol limit for novice drivers in England and Wales. Once the consultations have concluded, we will publish our responses in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria her Department plans to use to differentiate between small and large farms in assessing eligibility for future SFI applications.

The department will publish a precise definition before the first application window opens in June.  This is one of the details we’ll be testing with key stakeholders.

What steps the Department has taken to monitor the progress of children whose education has been disrupted by long COVID.

The department does not hold data on the number of children absent specifically due to long COVID. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. As set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ and ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ guidance, schools and local authorities should work together to ensure that pupils at school with medical conditions, including long COVID, should be properly supported so that they have full access to education. Both sets of guidance are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

Whether her Department tracks the number of children whose education has been disrupted by long COVID.

The department does not hold data on the number of children absent specifically due to long COVID. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. As set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ and ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ guidance, schools and local authorities should work together to ensure that pupils at school with medical conditions, including long COVID, should be properly supported so that they have full access to education. Both sets of guidance are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.