Written questions by Berry.

Whether he will take steps to ensure that (a) disabled people who receive means-tested benefits and (b) young people are represented on the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon. On 30 October, I announced that I would co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and experience on health and disability issues, as well as the co-production process. We will oversee a steering group which will lead the co-production process. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the majority of the steering group will be disabled or representatives of disabled people’s organisations. Members will be recruited via an open and accessible expression of interest (EOI), which has been designed to ensure the steering group reflects a broad range of perspectives, including lived experience of disability and professional expertise. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.

What steps he is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) openness on the the decision-making processes of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.

We recognise the high levels of interest in the Timms Review and are committed to continued transparency and evaluation, listening, learning and adapting as this work continues. The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for the Review and what it recommends. On 30 October, I announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November. The group will consider how best to engage with the widespread interest in its work. The Review will report to the Secretary of State for final decisions in autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 80755 on High Rise Flats: Fires, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the adequacy of legislation on the communication of fire risk assessment information from local authorities to residents.

The requirement to share relevant fire safety information with residents in multi-occupied residential premises came into effect in October 2023. We ran a survey in 2023 to ascertain preparedness for this requirement and a high degree of public sector bodies that responded (such as local authorities) indicated they were aware and planned to share this information. We plan to formally review the legislation in the future which may include a further survey or other relevant research to determine whether the above finding remains the case. Additionally, we have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders (including local authorities) on this legislation to hear how this is working in practice.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to (a) contain, (b) clean up and (c) remediate radioactivity in the (i) air and (ii) sea as a result of (A) potential incidents and (B) accidents involving vessels transporting radioactive cargos through the English Channel.

Defra is the lead Government department for remediating releases of radiological and nuclear materials in England. Containment of the source may be possible but would depend on a wide range of factors. If radioactive contamination from the air or sea was transferred to the built environment, for example deposited on a building, or was deposited on land, for example beaches, then Defra would consider recovery options. This would involve a risk-based approach using existing contingency plans to consider environmental risks.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of Turn2us's report entitled From stigma to support, published in October 2025; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of work coaches.

The findings from the Turn2us report, entitled ‘From Stigma to Support’, demonstrate the importance of tackling stigma in the benefits system and the need for reform to build a more supportive and tailored service. As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain. Our new service will remove the stigma of going to a Jobcentre and move away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach that Jobcentre Plus has today. We will shift the focus of the customer-work coach relationship away from compliance and box-ticking to make room for more constructive, personalised, and career-focused discussions. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee. This will be backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. This will help us build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. There are now over 1000 Pathways to Work Advisors in Jobcentres across England, Scotland and Wales who are helping disabled people and people with health conditions towards and into work. This increased deployment will help ensure that everyone impacted by the benefit change in April 2026 is offered support. People affected by the changes will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs. We have also launched the Timms Review with the aim of ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, we are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. Once in place, the Review’s steering group will agree the approach to considering evidence and gathering input. The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of international rail and sail through-ticketing that includes rail and ferry services.

International rail and sail through-ticketing that includes rail and ferry services is a matter for the train operators and ferry operators. Under Great British Railways (GBR) there will be a less fragmented system and GBR will want to consider future ticketing decisions.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of protection provided on single-item purchases under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

The Government recognises the importance of strong consumer protections in credit markets, including those provided under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. These protections help to build consumer confidence and trust, which are essential for a well-functioning credit market. We are currently undertaking a comprehensive reform of the Consumer Credit Act to ensure it is fit for purpose in today’s modern credit landscape. Our reforms aim to simplify and modernise the framework, making it more proportionate and outcomes-focused, while ensuring that it provides robust consumer protections - such as those under Section 75. We will provide an update on the next steps in due course.

Whether the environmental impact assessment for the review of the Airports National Policy Statement will include Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

The review of the Airports National Policy Statement will include a Strategic Environmental Assessment as part of the Appraisal of Sustainability. This will include consideration of greenhouse gas emissions. A scheme promoter will then be responsible for producing an environmental impact assessment as part of the development consent order process and this will be considered as part of the Secretary of State’s decision on planning consent.

Whether she will publish environmental impact assessments for plans to expand (a) Heathrow, (b) Luton and (c) Gatwick airports that include Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

A scheme promoter is responsible for producing an environmental impact assessment, which includes an assessment of any likely significant climate factors. Both the Luton and Gatwick environmental impact assessments are available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website and were considered as part of the Secretary of State’s decision. For Heathrow, the applicant’s assessment and any mitigation measures they may put forward will be considered as part of the Secretary of State’s decision on an application.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for the Government's (a) trade and (b) security cooperation with the US of the (i) deportation and (ii) detention centre activities of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities. Our Embassy in Washington works closely with US officials to understand how their policies impact British citizens and we update UK travel advice accordingly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 59033 on Liquefied Natural Gas: Mozambique, whether the UK Export Finance due diligence in relation to UK support for the Mozambique liquefied natural gas project has concluded.

UK Export Finance is currently in talks with project sponsors and other lenders, including export credit agencies, and other stakeholders, regarding the latest status of the Mozambique LNG project. I am unable to comment further during these talks for reasons of commercial sensitivity, but I will update the House once discussions conclude.

How many violent crimes perpetrated against sex workers were recorded by (a) police area, (b) sanction detection rate and (c) whether the crime was reported by the (i) victim and (ii) third party in the latest period for which data is available.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of sexual and violence against the person offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales. The latest information, broken down by police force area and by out outcome type, for the year ending June 2025, can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tablesThe Home Office does not hold information on whether the victim of an offence has engaged in prostitution.

What steps he is taking to address delays by NHS Pensions in contacting retired NHS staff with letters detailing settlements; and what new deadlines are being set for letters to be sent to each cohort.

The Department recognises the importance of giving members of the NHS Pension Scheme certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remedy.I have commissioned the independent Chair of the NHS Pension Scheme Pension Board to lead a review of the NHS Business Services Authority’s (NHS BSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members. This review is well underway. It will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHS BSA’s delivery plan for the remaining statements.I expect to be in a position to provide the House with a fuller update on the remedy replan and the review of this in good time before Christmas recess.

Whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of the continuation of the two-child benefit cap on the (a) physical and (b) mental health of children in families affected by the cap.

This Government is determined to bring down child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is a member of the Taskforce, which is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. To date, Taskforce Ministers and their delegates have met nine times to discuss the critical issues that drive child poverty. The Child Poverty Taskforce is hearing directly from families and children across the UK as part of its work to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, as well as front-line staff and leading campaigners, charities and organisations. The Taskforce is also working closely with local and devolved governments to hear how child poverty affects communities and what can be done to combat it.

What information his Department holds on whether any UK companies are supplying (a) equipment and (b) services to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (i) detention centres and (ii) other activities.

None.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the report by the Citizens Advice entitled The Hidden Cost of Homelessness, published in September 2025 on (a) addressing poor standards in temporary accommodation by implementing the extension of the Decent Homes Standard (DHS) and Awaab’s law and (b) working more closely with local authorities to improve the quality of temporary accommodation.

The Renters’ Right Act provides powers to extend Awaab’s Law to temporary accommodation occupied under licence. We will be consulting in due course on how best to apply Awaab’s Law to such accommodation. We announced in February this year that subject to consultation we plan to extend the Decent Homes Standard to temporary accommodation. We are now carefully considering all responses to the consultation. These will inform our proposals, which we intend to publish in due course. The Government is providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund – the largest investment in the fund to date - to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly bed and breakfasts and hotels. We have also invested more than £1 billion in homelessness services this year, an increase of more than £316 million on the previous year. This includes £10.9 million additional funding announced last month to increase access to support and services for families in temporary accommodation.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of airport expansion on tourism in coastal towns.

Airports are key gateways into the UK for international tourists and airport expansion will help to facilitate their ability to visit the United Kingdom, including our coastal towns.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centres.

US immigration policy is a matter for the US authorities. Our Embassy in Washington works closely with US officials to understand how their policies impact British citizens and we update UK travel advice accordingly.

What steps he is taking to raise awareness and warn pensioners about scam messages on winter fuel payment eligibility.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is taking a number of steps to protect our vulnerable customers from online benefit scams. This includes raising public awareness of benefit scam messages on the Gov.uk website. Our most recent Press Release relating to Winter Fuel Payment warned our customers to be alert to text message scams in advance of next month’s payments and urging them to forward any suspicious texts to 7726. This is free of charge and helps phone providers block the numbers involved. Customers are also encouraged to forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. We are also working together with Action Fraud raising awareness on social media. This is alongside DWP’s continued work with trusted partners and charities such as Independent Age to ensure accurate and timely information is available. DWP has also developed a recorded message for our telephone lines to raise awareness of Winter Fuel Payment scams.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to (a) recover and (b) salvage any consignment of radioactive material in the event of the sinking of a vessel carrying radioactive cargo.

Defra are the lead government department in England for the recovery from malicious and civil radiological and nuclear incidents. The preparations and response to these incidents is led by the Home Office and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero respectively. If a civil vessel carrying a cargo of radioactive or nuclear material sunk in waters controlled by the UK, Defra would consider recovery options. This would involve a risk-based approach using existing contingency plans to consider environmental risks and salvage practicalities. This would include the Flag State of the vessel and owner of the material, who each have legal responsibilities. If the sunken vessel was owned by the UK military or an ally, recovery and salvage operations would be led by the Ministry of Defence.