Written questions by Arthur.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the (a) findings of and (b) recommendation on alcohol and breast cancer in the World Cancer Research Fund's 2025 report entitled Dietary and Lifestyle Patterns for Cancer Prevention: Evidence and Recommendations from CUP Global.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the biggest risk factors of certain cancers. The Government welcomes the recent publication of the World Cancer Research Fund's 2025 report. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines and the NHS webpage on the risks of alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer, including breast cancer. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects patient data on cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases. The NDRS does not collect data on the causes of cancer. Therefore, the Department has not made a formal assessment on the annual cost to the NHS of treating breast cancer cases in the United Kingdom that are attributable to alcohol consumption. The National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published in the new year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption, alongside other risk factors, given alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, including breast cancer.

What steps his Department is taking to increase levels of public awareness on the potential impact of alcohol consumption on levels of breast cancer risk.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the biggest risk factors of certain cancers. The Government welcomes the recent publication of the World Cancer Research Fund's 2025 report. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines and the NHS webpage on the risks of alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer, including breast cancer. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects patient data on cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases. The NDRS does not collect data on the causes of cancer. Therefore, the Department has not made a formal assessment on the annual cost to the NHS of treating breast cancer cases in the United Kingdom that are attributable to alcohol consumption. The National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published in the new year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption, alongside other risk factors, given alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, including breast cancer.

How many breast cancer cases in the UK are estimated to be caused by alcohol consumption each year; and what percentage of total breast cancer cases this represents.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the biggest risk factors of certain cancers. The Government welcomes the recent publication of the World Cancer Research Fund's 2025 report. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines and the NHS webpage on the risks of alcohol, clearly state that alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing seven types of cancer, including breast cancer. The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects patient data on cancer, congenital anomalies and rare diseases. The NDRS does not collect data on the causes of cancer. Therefore, the Department has not made a formal assessment on the annual cost to the NHS of treating breast cancer cases in the United Kingdom that are attributable to alcohol consumption. The National Cancer Plan for England, which will be published in the new year, will build on the shift from sickness to prevention set out by the 10-Year Health Plan and will seek to reduce risk factors. The plan will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention. This will include alcohol consumption, alongside other risk factors, given alcohol is linked to an increased risk of seven types of cancer, including breast cancer.

Whether she has considered introducing a national requirement for the PAS1899 accessibility standard for EV charging stations.

Earlier this year, the Government and Motability Foundation co-sponsored a review of the PAS 1899:2022 standards, and are looking to address challenges identified. The Government will continue to monitor the adoption of the standards and their impact on accessibility to assess the need for further measures.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, on incentivising the Motability scheme to buy British manufactured cars.

Motability Foundation is a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission so is independent of government. The Scheme is delivered by Motability Operations which is an independent commercial company under contract to the charity. The Motability Foundation is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Motability Scheme. The department does however work closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme.

What steps he is taking to incentivise the Motability scheme to source British manufactured cars.

Motability Foundation is a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission so is independent of government. The Scheme is delivered by Motability Operations which is an independent commercial company under contract to the charity. The Motability Foundation is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Motability Scheme. The department does however work closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme.

What medicines procured by NHS England are imported from Israel.

Whilst NHS England does put in place procurement frameworks for trusts to procure medicines, NHS England itself does not procure any medicines.

For what reason his Department is prioritising Work Capability Assessments for new benefit claimants over reassessments.

The Department prioritises Work Capability Assessments (WCA) for new benefit claims (and for individuals already receiving UC who join the UC health journey) in order to assess these individuals’ capability for work at the earliest opportunity. This is so they get the right benefit entitlement and the right labour market support as soon as possible. During the second half of 2024, DWP experienced a much higher level of demand for new WCAs than envisaged. As a result, 35,000 reassessments built up from individuals reporting a change in their condition before May 2025. We have worked with suppliers to rapidly increase capacity for clearing this backlog, including by accelerating the recruitment of assessors. 6,000 of these referrals have already been progressed, and we expect most of the remainder to be cleared over the next six months.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in Work Capability Assessments for existing claimants who have reported a deterioration in their health.

The Department prioritises Work Capability Assessments (WCA) for new benefit claims (and for individuals already receiving UC who join the UC health journey) in order to assess these individuals’ capability for work at the earliest opportunity. This is so they get the right benefit entitlement and the right labour market support as soon as possible. During the second half of 2024, DWP experienced a much higher level of demand for new WCAs than envisaged. As a result, 35,000 reassessments built up from individuals reporting a change in their condition before May 2025. We have worked with suppliers to rapidly increase capacity for clearing this backlog, including by accelerating the recruitment of assessors. 6,000 of these referrals have already been progressed, and we expect most of the remainder to be cleared over the next six months.

How much his Department paid directly to the Motability scheme in 2024-25.

For the financial year 2024–2025 the total value of benefits transferred by Department for Work and Pensions to the Motability scheme was £3,074,920,421.67. The Motability Scheme receives no direct funding from DWP. However, it does receive the direct transfer of benefit from DWP. This is claimant benefit the claimant would otherwise be receiving, and the cost of transfer is paid for by the Motability Foundation.The Motability Scheme also receives zero rate VAT for hire of motor vehicle to individuals in receipt of specified disability benefits,: zero rate VAT for sale of lease vehicle on first sale after end of lease and zero rate Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) on Scheme policies.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Church Commissioners on extending the spending cap on the Listed Places of Worship scheme after 2026.

The future of the grant scheme funding after March 2026 will be considered as we work through the results of the Spending Review and Departmental business planning process.The Department has had various meetings with representatives of the Church and other stakeholders on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In June 2025, the Heritage Minister met church leaders including Marsha de Cordova MP, who is the Second Church Estates Commissioner.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of an annual cap on grants to individual places of worship under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme on those places of worship.

DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impact on introducing an annual cap of £25,000 per place of worship for the 2025/26 financial year.The changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential savings from the introduction of the £25,000 annual cap on grants under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme.

In January this government announced that we would extend the Listed Places of Worship Scheme for one year with an overall budget of £23 million, coming into effect from April 2025. Previous to that the budget for the scheme was up to £42 million, with an average spend of £29 million per year between 2017 and 2024. However, to ensure the £23 million budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship.This means there is a saving of approximately £6m per year.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 3 September 2025, Official Report, column 166WH, what the (a) cost, (b) terms of reference, (c) delivery schedule and (d) contractor was for the research she has commissioned on pavement parking.

My officials are in discussion with suppliers to determine the terms of reference for the current work in accordance with Government procurement requirements. They expect to issue the formal specification shortly. Given there are no existing measures of pavement parking, I anticipate this will include preparatory work to create the data-collection methods to be used, followed by a second phase which will be the data-collection fieldwork itself. Costs, and timelines will be finalised during the procurement process. Findings will be published as early as possible and no later than 12 weeks after the final outputs from the data collection stage are agreed in accordance with the Government Social Research Publication Protocol. This research seeks to measure the extent of pavement parking and its impacts and provide a baseline so that whichever policy we implement can be evaluated. It will not delay any policy announcement nor the publication of my Department’s formal response to the previous Government’s 2020 consultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to further restrict the (a) sale or (b) use of (i)perfluorooctanoic acid and (ii) products which contain it.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts, and related compounds are already banned in the UK under the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Regulation 2019/1021, as amended. That legislation prohibits the manufacturing, placing on the market and use of POPs, including PFOA.

What steps she is taking to support the increased use of Car Clubs.

Officials have met with Car Clubs as part of wider engagement on the Motor Insurance Taskforce. The Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (VETS) Order offers bonus ZEV Mandate credits to vehicle manufacturers who sell zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) to car clubs. The Government is driving forward the expansion of public charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can confidently make the switch to an electric vehicle. The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. And we are continuing to invest, with £400m announced at the spending review to support EV infrastructure out to 2030.

What steps she is taking to help increase the return on investment from pension savings.

This house legislated to auto-enrol millions of employees into pension saving and the onus is on us to ensure they get the best possible returns.The Pension Schemes Bill will do exactly that, via bigger, better pension schemes, a value for money framework and tackling small pots.Average earner savings over their working life could have their pension pot boosted by £29,000.

What steps she is taking to expand the provision of high occupancy vehicle lanes in England.

Decisions on the use of high occupancy vehicle lanes in England are a matter for individual local highway authorities, and the Government currently has no plans to expand or encourage their use.

What steps she is taking to support the increased use of (a) car-pooling and (b) lift sharing.

I am carefully considering how we can support and promote car club and car-sharing schemes. The Government already supports car clubs with bonus credits in the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate and guidance for local authorities on charging for car clubs. As I set out in response to a topical question from the Member for Brentford and Isleworth on 11 September, I will hold a roundtable with industry stakeholders in the near future to inform these considerations.

If she will publish the membership and terms of reference of the Rail Engagement Group.

As part of our manifesto commitment to reset industrial relations, the Government is looking to establish the Rail Engagement Group (REG). It is intended that the REG will bring together leaders from the Department for Transport, rail industry and trade unions for strategic discussions about the railway, as we move towards establishing Great British Railways. Individuals have recently been invited to join the REG. The group’s membership will be published on gov.uk after it has been confirmed. The terms of reference will be published once agreed by the REG.