Written questions by Aquarone.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36916 on British Overseas Territories: Companies, what discussions he has had with the British Virgin Islands government on the reasons why it did not implement a register of beneficial ownership by the end of June 2025.

At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) committed to implement a register of beneficial ownership accessible to those with a legitimate interest offering the maximum possible degree of access and transparency, whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with its constitution, by June 2025.Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have been in regular contact with the BVI to press for improvements to its register and to ensure that it meets its JMC commitment. The BVI published an updated policy on its register on 23 June. In my discussions with Premier Wheatley, I will continue to make clear the importance of further improvements in the BVI's proposal, as well as timely delivery of the register. My Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July provides further details of the next steps.I have raised this issue on a number of occasions recently with the Premier both bilaterally and in the context of wider meetings with OT leaders. I look forward to meeting him again in person soon to raise this and other matters. Our expectations remain the same.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her polices of trends in levels of theft of Royal Mail post boxes; and whether she has had recent discussions with Royal Mail on those trends.

In the year ending June 2024, there were 6,290 ‘Theft of mail’ offences recorded by the police across England and Wales, a 26% decrease compared with the previous year.Theft, including the theft of post boxes is a serious issue. This Government recognises the distress and disruption that theft and vandalism can cause, not only to businesses, but also to local communities and critical infrastructure.That is why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. This will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems including the theft of Royal Mail post boxes.The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of the additional neighbourhood policing roles.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of drop-outs from vocational courses; and what steps she is taking to increase course completion rates.

The department's Qualification Achievement Rates (QARs) include official statistics on levels of achievement for a range of qualifications, including vocational learning. Latest published statistics show overall achievement rates within the 19+ education and training cohort have increased from 86.8% in 2022/23 to 87.4% in 2023/24, an increase of 0.6 percentage points. Compared with 2021/22, they are up by 1.2 percentage points. Links to QAR data from current and previous years is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/introduction-to-qualification-achievement-rates-qars.Retention rates are also improving at ages 16 to 18. The retained and assessed rate for students who finished their T Level across 16 subjects in summer 2024 was up five percentage points from the previous year in over 10 subjects. The rate for large Vocational Technical Qualifications was up three percentage points. Further details on provisional T Level results for the 2023/24 academic year are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/provisional-t-level-results/2023-24.Alongside T Levels, the department continues to develop and improve qualifications to ensure that they meet the needs of learners. Newly reformed qualifications will become available for delivery at levels 2 and 3 at the start of the next academic year, and we are in the process of approving new level 3 qualifications for delivery from August 2026. These are high-quality, aligned to occupational standards in technical routes, and offer learners clear routes to higher education or skilled employment.

What steps she is taking to encourage more young people to undertake vocational training to become (a) plumbers and (b) electricians.

The department continues to make available education and training opportunities in electrical and plumbing sectors, including:A range of apprenticeships, including the level 3 plumbing and domestic heating technician standard and the level 3 domestic electrician standard. We are also developing foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors, including construction from August.A T Level in Building Services Engineering for Construction provides students with the core knowledge and skills needed for entry to a range of occupations in the electrical and plumbing sectors.Investment of an additional £625 million in a construction skills package, expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers, including in electrical and plumbing, this Parliament. This includes establishing ten technical excellence colleges specialising in construction skills, opening in September 2025.The department continues to raise awareness amongst young people of the vocational training that is available. Secondary schools have legal requirements to provide independent careers guidance, including at least six opportunities for providers of technical education or apprenticeships to speak to all pupils. Our government-funded network of Careers Hubs, coordinated by the Careers and Enterprise Company, supports schools and colleges to maximise these opportunities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing funding for the development of neighbourhood plans on parish councils.

As part of the Spending Review we’ve looked at all the services and programmes the government supports to identify those that should now be in a position to support themselves without ongoing funding. After more than a decade of taxpayer support, we believe that support for neighbourhood planning groups should be possible without further government funding. Parish and Town Councils have access to their own resources which they can choose to use for neighbourhood planning if they wish. With the end to the national structure for support, planning consultants should be able to innovate and offer groups lower cost support more targeted at their particular ambitions and needs.

What steps his Department is taking to help support the establishment of a dental school at the University of East Anglia.

We would like to congratulate the University of East Anglia on its newly awarded dental school status and its ambitions to train the future dentistry workforce. Tackling the geographical disparities in access to National Health Service dentistry is vital, and the Government welcomes efforts to help to deliver this ambition.Government approval or funding is not required to establish a new dental school. Provided that a prospective dental school meets the requirements of the General Dental Council and the Office for Students, it would be considered for any future Government-funded training places.We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. It will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the NHS has the right people in the right places, and with the right skills, to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, and have better training, more fulfilling roles and hope for the future, so that they can achieve more.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the minimum income requirements for spousal visas on pensioners who are unable to increase their income.

The Home Secretary commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. Once published, we will consider their report and decide on any policy changes, consistent with the objectives of the Government’s Immigration White Paper.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rules on pension entitlements for survivors of police officers on levels of loneliness.

The 2015 police pension scheme is the scheme currently open to serving police officers. This scheme provides life-long survivor benefits for spouses, civil partners and unmarried partners, including those who remarry or cohabit after losing a spouse. These benefits were first introduced for all eligible police officers in the 2006 police pension scheme, which was superseded by the 2015 scheme.For officers who joined policing prior to 2006, the 1987 police pension scheme provides a pension for the widow, widower or civil partner of a police officer who dies. In common with most other public service pension schemes of that time, these benefits cease to be payable where the widow, widower or civil partner remarries or cohabits with another partner.From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing penalties to local government for delays in implementing food waste collections due to (a) market congestion for vehicles and (b) other external factors.

We are working closely with local authorities and other key stakeholders across the waste sector to support implementation of food waste collections under Simpler Recycling in England. We are aware of concerns about delivery timelines, pressure on supply chains for vehicles and containers, and the need to upgrade waste and recycling infrastructure. Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) on interventions to address bottlenecks in supply chains, including recently published guidance by WRAP to support local authorities procuring food waste services: Weekly food waste implementation supplementary procurement guidance | WRAP. Public authorities (such as waste collection authorities) are expected to comply with their statutory duties. If they do not comply, they are at risk of judicial review. Local authorities are independent bodies and are accountable to their electorate rather than to Ministers or Government departments.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of postbox theft; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle it.

In the year ending December 2024, there were 7,998 ‘Theft of mail’ offences recorded by the police across England and Wales, a 24% increase compared with the previous year.The Government recognises the profound impact theft can have on individuals and wider communities. Key to tackling all types of theft is having more police on the streets. That is why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. This will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems.The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of the additional neighbourhood policing roles.

When she will publish the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy.

The Government is committed to tackling rural crime, safeguarding rural areas through tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft and anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and action to prevent fly-tipping.We recognise that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why we are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the next iteration of a Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy, to ensure the government’s Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live, including rural communities. This will be published in due course.This joined up approach between government and policing will help ensure the weight of government is put behind tackling rural crimes such as the theft of high value farm equipment and livestock.In addition, we are providing funding of £800,000 in the current financial year to the National Rural and National Wildlife Crime Units. This will ensure these specialist units continue to help police forces tackle rural and wildlife crime, including helping tackle organised theft and disrupting the activities of serious and organised crime groups.Rural communities will also benefit from more local visible policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, helping to tackle crimes like anti-social behaviour and county lines which can have a devastating impact on rural life.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help tackle the backlog in certificate of lawfulness appeals at the planning inspectorate.

The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027. Casework including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework, appeals against refusal of planning permission and appeals against enforcement notices are currently being prioritised. In addition, the Inspectorate has designed and developed a new digital Appeals Service currently in Beta phase. This new service improves the process for submitting appeals, including reducing the number of invalid appeals submitted. In turn, this reduces the number of validation checks required and is speeding up the time taken to validate appeals. The new service has been expanded to cover all local planning authority areas. The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 16285 on Methylphenidate: Shortage, what recent progress his Department has made on improving the supply of methylphenidate in (a) Norfolk and (b) the UK.

The supply of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets has greatly improved. However, some issues persist. We are continuing to work to resolve these remaining issues by engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to build further capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. The Department is also working with new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to improve the supply and resiliency for the United Kingdom’s market.The Department continually updates a list of currently available and unavailable attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website. This helps ensure those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. This list is available at the following link: www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Norfolk is not held centrally.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support communities affected by coastal erosion through the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is committed to supporting coastal communities and providing a strategic plan to manage flood and coastal erosion risks including the use of Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs). The new £360 million Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund will provide investment in our coastal communities to help revitalise communities and support tourism. We will be engaging with local authorities, coastal community groups and local industry associations to understand how we can best target this funding to where it matters most.

What steps she is taking to ensure the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principles.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay, taking into account the individual circumstances of each case.The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances i.e. full arrears payment by one lump sum, partial lump sum payment and a schedule of on-going payments to recover any remaining arrears within a maximum of two years, and a schedule of on-going payments to recover the full arrears within two years.After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation, discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). A DEO instructs an employer to make deductions from the paying parent’s earnings and pay the amounts to the CMS who will pass this onto the receiving parent. The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures, including order for sale, where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removal of driving licences, disqualification of passports, and committal to prison.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues attending the UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025 on UK-EU rail interoperability.

Rail interoperability is not a focus area for the UK-EU Summit on 19 May and the Secretary of State has not had discussions on this topic with colleagues attending.

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues attending the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025 on access to a cross-border carbon storage market.

As part of the EU Reset we are working with the EU to identify areas to strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit including on energy. We are aligned with the EU ambition to support industry to deploy CCUS at scale and we both see CCUS as essential to meeting our respective net zero emissions.We see a strong opportunity to collaborate with the EU on CCUS; our global early mover status, comparative regulatory regimes such as similar CO2 storage licensing and safety standards and our extensive offshore experience mean we can be a valuable partner to the EU. This includes establishing cross-border CO2 transport and storage networks across the continent.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled £740 million allocated for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND, published on 27 March 2025, how many new SEND places will be created in Norfolk.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision, sits with local authorities.The department has now published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year, to support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.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.Norfolk County Council has been allocated just over £13 million for 2025/26 and it is up to the local authority to make decisions about the places they create and to prioritise this funding to meet local needs.

If she will widen the payment methods which can be used when making a payment to the DVLA.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offers a range of payment options, including direct debits, cheques and debit and credit cards.The DVLA keeps its range of payment options under review, taking into account the associated costs and benefits of potential new options.

What estimate she has made of the amount of tax income which could be generated by new registers of beneficial ownership in overseas territories and crown dependencies.

We are clear on the benefits of beneficial ownership registers, which not only include tackling illicit finance and corruption, but also fighting tax and sanctions evasion. At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to join Montserrat and Gibraltar in implementing fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers. The Crown Dependencies have committed to increasing the transparency of their beneficial ownership registers and are working towards implementing access to those with legitimate interest, in line with the EU's 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. HMRC draws on a variety of data sources to tackle offshore non-compliance, including exchange of information under double taxation agreements and Tax Information Exchange Agreements.