Written questions by Darling.

What his planned timetable is for when each consultation attached to the Employment Rights Bill will have reported to the Government.

The department launched an initial package of three public consultations last October covering: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers; creating a modern framework for industrial relations; and, strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire. These consultations closed in December and the department will publish responses in due course. The department does not routinely collate information on the specific cost of running such consultations.We have committed to full consultation on the implementation of this legislation, and expect this to begin this year, ensuring reforms work for employers and workers alike.

If she will pause the safety valve scheme until it's review is published.

Over time, 38 local authorities have been supported to manage their high needs budgets through the Safety Valve programme. We will continue to work with local authorities with Safety Valve agreements to deliver their plans, and to provide the additional funding support set out in those agreements where plans are being delivered. The department has already said that it will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control.

Which local authorities are part of the review into safety valve schemes.

The areas taking part in this research are: Barnsley, Croydon, Darlington, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kent, Kirklees, Torbay, Salford, Surrey and York.

What the expected timeline is for Baroness Casey's Commission into Adult Social Care, including the dates for evidence submission.

Baroness Casey’s commission into adult social care will begin in April 2025. The Commission is independent and the timetable, beyond the reporting stages (Phase 1, reporting in 2026, Phase 2 in 2028) will be developed by the commission itself and set out in due course.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with ticket vendors on the potential impact of the use of apps for purchasing tickets for events on (a) all digitally-excluded people, (b) people with disabilities and (c) people without access to smartphones.

Provided consumers are not misled and are able to make informed decisions, firms should be free to offer their products and services under conditions of their choosing. To support digital inclusion the Government encourages businesses to provide alternatives to digital purchases, where possible, for consumers who do not have access to a mobile phone.It is important that consumers experience openness and transparency when buying tickets. The Government has launched a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, which closes on 4 April 2025. We are seeking evidence on the impact of current pricing practices on consumers and businesses and whether the current legal framework provides sufficient protection. The Government wants to ensure access and fairness for fans purchasing tickets for events, and we welcome responses to the call for evidence on these issues. We are engaging with ticketing platforms on issues covered in the call for evidence.

What steps the Government is taking to (a) investigate and (b) raise awareness of (i) unethical and (ii) potentially corrupt practices within the insurance industry.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, including insurance firms. Insurers must treat customers fairly under the FCA’s rules. The FCA monitors firms to ensure compliance with its rules and has robust powers to take action where necessary.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of NHS dentists in Torbay constituency.

We are determined to rebuild dentistry in the National Health Service. It will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.Integrated Care Boards have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to help ensure that grants for affordable housing schemes do not sit as debt on housing association balance sheets.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is responsible for setting prescribed accounting standards for the UK and Ireland, including the treatment of government grants. Grants, such as those associated with the Affordable Housing Programme, are not treated as debt on housing association balance sheets.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle tool theft.

We recognise the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living.We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.We are also working alongside the police and businesses to tackle these crimes and ensure perpetrators receive just punishment including work to make tradespeople’s vans secure.Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van.The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents involving tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They also provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed, but do not cover crimes against commercial premises. No regional breakdown is available.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent disruption on the Dawlish rail line on the local economy of Torbay.

The Government has invested £165 million into the South West Rail Resilience Programme to build resilience around Dawlish, which has seen much improved performance. There has, however, been some disruption on the line through Dawlish in recent months with cancellations due to poor weather, a lack of traincrew on Sundays and fleet reliability. The Department is working closely with Great Western Railway and Network Rail to improve the resilience of train services on this rail line.

If she will publish a regional breakdown of the costs of tool theft.

We recognise the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living.We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.We are also working alongside the police and businesses to tackle these crimes and ensure perpetrators receive just punishment including work to make tradespeople’s vans secure.Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van.The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents involving tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They also provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed, but do not cover crimes against commercial premises. No regional breakdown is available.

How many full-time equivalent civil servants are currently working on phase five of the South West Rail Resilience programme.

There are four full-time equivalent civil servants working on rail projects in the South West, including the South West Rail Resilience Programme.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor the implementation of the right person right care policy by Devon and Cornwall constabulary.

The Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) national programme commenced in May 2023 with a focused team supported by subject matter experts.Whilst appreciating that police forces remain operationally independent, the national implementation team at the National Police Chiefs Council conduct a monthly meeting with all force representatives and partners (including Devon and Cornwall). Alongside this, one to one meetings are arranged between force representatives responsible for the governance and implementation of RCRP and the national team, of which Devon and Cornwall are engaged.To support the partnership working, guidance has been produced for police forces by the NPCC and College of Policing and additional guidance has been produced by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and NHS England.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of fire regulations on Lithium Ion battery storage in the (a) commercial and (b) domestic sector.

There is a robust framework governing the fire safety of lithium-ion battery storage. The Health and Safety Executive regulates commercial batteries within a framework which requires industry to act at all stages of the battery’s deployment to ensure safety. Of particular relevance, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations (2002) set out requirements to protect workers and others from fire risks. Domestic-scale batteries for consumers are covered under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, making producers responsible for ensuring product safety. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to remove unsafe batteries from sale.

How much the Government is spending on public awareness campaigns to inform people about the opportunity to buy back missing National Insurance years before the 5 April 2025 deadline.

Since April 2024, approximately 37,000 customers have topped up more than 68,000 years and £35 million has been paid via HMRC’s digital services. From October 2024 we have been running a significant communications campaign to raise awareness of the opportunity for customers to buy back missing National Insurance years, ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline. Activity has included a wide range of direct communications, messages on our telephony lines, digital platforms, stakeholder engagement, and press/social media to reach our target audience in a fully integrated way. There have been over 20,000 views of HMRC’s YouTube video in 5 months. Stakeholder resource packs have been sent out via FCDO and British Embassies to support customers who may have lived and worked abroad and through Pension providers. HMRC has also provided information bulletins directly to more than 2 million employers and other representative organisations. Ahead of the deadline we will step this up further to remind customers that there are only 2 months left to make any additional contributions. During this period and where appropriate we will supplement this extensive activity with strategic and targeted paid-for activity to speak to elements of the audience who may not have been reached. It is not yet possible to provide a final cost for this activity, but all costs involved in the campaign will be published as part of the regular transparency reports on gov.uk

What steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the opportunity for people to buy back missing National Insurance years.

Since April 2024, approximately 37,000 customers have topped up more than 68,000 years and £35 million has been paid via HMRC’s digital services. From October 2024 we have been running a significant communications campaign to raise awareness of the opportunity for customers to buy back missing National Insurance years, ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline. Activity has included a wide range of direct communications, messages on our telephony lines, digital platforms, stakeholder engagement, and press/social media to reach our target audience in a fully integrated way. There have been over 20,000 views of HMRC’s YouTube video in 5 months. Stakeholder resource packs have been sent out via FCDO and British Embassies to support customers who may have lived and worked abroad and through Pension providers. HMRC has also provided information bulletins directly to more than 2 million employers and other representative organisations. Ahead of the deadline we will step this up further to remind customers that there are only 2 months left to make any additional contributions. During this period and where appropriate we will supplement this extensive activity with strategic and targeted paid-for activity to speak to elements of the audience who may not have been reached. It is not yet possible to provide a final cost for this activity, but all costs involved in the campaign will be published as part of the regular transparency reports on gov.uk

Which health foundation trusts other than Devon are under NHS Oversight Framework Level 4.

The NHS Oversight Framework (NOF) sets out NHS England’s approach to oversight of the National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England allocates all ICBs and NHS trusts, including foundation trusts, to one of four segments. A segmentation decision indicates the scale and nature of support needs, from no specific support needs, or segment one, to a requirement for mandated intensive support, or segment four. NHS England publishes the segmentation decisions. This is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-oversight-framework-22-23/.Trusts and ICBs in NOF segment four receive mandated intensive support via NHS England’s Recovery Support Programme (RSP). There are currently 20 trusts and three ICBs in the RSP. The trusts in the RSP are shown in the following list:Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust;Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust;King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust;Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust;University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust;Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust;Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust;Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust;East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust;Medway NHS Foundation Trust;South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust;South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust;Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust;University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust;Isle of Wight NHS Trust;Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust;University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust;Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; andTorbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.The list of trusts and ICBs in the RSP is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/system-and-organisational-oversight/national-recovery-support-programme/

How many full-time equivalent civil servants are working on supporting people who wish to buy back missing National Insurance years before the 5 April 2025 deadline.

The majority of customers can check for gaps in their NI record, and make payment online. To support those unable to use online services, we have deployed c.300 frontline Civil servants within the DWP and HMRC. A further c100 frontline Civil Servants will be deployed in February, ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline.

How much additional funding for maintenance at delayed schemes in the New Hospital Programme has been made available for each hospital in each year.

The safety of National Health Service staff and patients is of vital importance to the Government. That is why repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a key part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan.Integrated care boards will collectively receive over £4 billion in annual capital allocations in 2025/26. These allocations are managed at a local level, with funds allocated according to local priorities, including estate maintenance works at New Hospital Programme sites. In addition, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also committed over £1 billion to make inroads into the backlog of critical maintenance and to tackle dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Further detail on funding will follow at the earliest opportunity, including local capital allocations and national capital programmes for 2025 to 2026, as part of NHS planning guidance. Capital funding levels for future years will be determined through the current Spending Review, which concludes in June 2025.

If he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the turnaround times for (a) hospital and (b) HM Coroner's Office post mortems in (i) neonatal and paediatric and (ii) other cases.

Workforce shortages in paediatric and perinatal pathology have led to longer turnaround times for hospital post-mortem reports in some areas of England. NHS England has established a national work programme to address these shortages. A £20,000 recruitment incentive for new trainees has been introduced, with further initiatives underway to review the training pathway, develop advanced practitioner roles, and implement a retention strategy for existing staff. Additional funding has also been provided in 2024/25 to create capacity in the service, whilst simultaneously exploring opportunities to streamline pathways through the use of digital and imaging techniques supported by the latest clinical evidence and practice.