Written questions by Darling.

If he will issue guidance to integrated care boards on representation for NHS Primary Care stakeholders.

The Health and Care Act 2022 sets out the legislative minimum integrated care board (ICB) membership requirement, with a mandated partner member nominated for primary medical services, along with nominated partner members from the National Health Service trusts and local authorities to bring knowledge and a perspective from their sectors. ICBs can exceed the legislative minimum requirements for ICB membership to address local needs, which may include additional representation from a diverse range of stakeholders, including primary care. Currently there are no plans to issue any guidance on representation of NHS primary care stakeholders.

What steps his Department is taking to help young universal credit claimants into work.

Our plan to go further, as laid out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, is critical to growing the economy. This includes implementing a new national jobs and career service to help get more people into work alongside a Youth Guarantee, meaning more quality opportunities for training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all young people aged 18-21 years old, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age. The Department understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why the Department for Work and Pensions has a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. The Department for Work and Pensions currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce legislative proposals to ban wet wipes containing plastic.

The Government is working together with the devolved Governments to understand the issue, with a view to legislate to ban wet wipes containing plastic across the UK.

How many full-time equivalent staff are currently working on her Department's response to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.

In responding to the Ombudsman’s report work was undertaken by civil servants across grades who worked both full and part-time. The Ombudsman’s report was detailed and complex. It took around 6 years to complete and the issues it considered spanned a period of some 30 years. It is not possible to determine the exact number of people who worked on this as it fluctuated as we reviewed and considered different elements of the Ombudsman’s report and evidence. This work included input from teams across the Department, who supported as and when needed. Following careful consideration of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report into how changes to the State Pension age were communicated, the Government has decided we will not be paying compensation. We have made our decision on the facts of the matter which we have set out in our detailed response and deposited in the House Library.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of universal credit payment levels in the context of (a) food costs, (b) bills and (c) other essential costs.

No assessment has been made. Benefits increased by 6.7% in April 2024, in line with inflation. The Basic and New State Pensions were also uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock.’ We have recently announced a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions will be introduced from April 2025, helping approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year. Much more needs to be done, but this is the first step towards delivering on the manifesto commitment to review Universal Credit. Further details about the review will be set out in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of trialling the provision of a copy assessment report when informing claimants of a decision on a benefit claim under the Health Transformation Programme.

The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and create a more efficient service. As we develop these services, we are exploring a range of ideas to establish what works best for our customers with HTP providing the platform for change and the flexible capability to trial new ideas. Audio recording is available on an opt-in basis for face-to-face and telephone assessments. Customers are informed of the audio recording offer prior to their assessment in invitation letters. The programme is looking at how audio recording can also be offered for video assessments and will be seeking ways to improve the whole process. We will set out the detail of any changes in due course. We have undertaken initial tests where assessment reports are shared with customers. We are evaluating the outcomes of these tests to establish next steps.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of trialling automated recording of health assessment information under the Health Transformation Programme.

The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and create a more efficient service. As we develop these services, we are exploring a range of ideas to establish what works best for our customers with HTP providing the platform for change and the flexible capability to trial new ideas. Audio recording is available on an opt-in basis for face-to-face and telephone assessments. Customers are informed of the audio recording offer prior to their assessment in invitation letters. The programme is looking at how audio recording can also be offered for video assessments and will be seeking ways to improve the whole process. We will set out the detail of any changes in due course. We have undertaken initial tests where assessment reports are shared with customers. We are evaluating the outcomes of these tests to establish next steps.

How many and what proportion of mandatory reconsiderations of work capability assessment decisions have resulted in a different decision in each of the last three years.

Statistics on mandatory reconsiderations of work capability assessment decisions for Employment and Support Allowance can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions. Statistics on mandatory reconsiderations of work capability assessment decisions for Universal Credit Work Capability Assessments are not available, but are in phase 3 of the proposed development timeline of those statistics, so are expected to be published in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

What guidance her Department has issued to sixth form academies on securing capital funding for new school buildings when existing buildings are no longer fit for purpose.

Ensuring schools, including sixth form college academies, have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.Responsibility for keeping school and sixth form buildings safe and well-maintained lies with institutions and their responsible bodies. These are typically local authorities, academy trusts, or voluntary aided school bodies. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.The department has allocated £1.8 billion in condition funding for 2024/25 for schools, including sixth form academies, informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. As part of the 2025/26 budget, the department is increasing capital allocations to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion, £300 million more than this year.The £1.8 billion of funding allocated in 2024/25 includes £1.15 billion in School Condition Allocations (SCA) for local authorities and other large responsible bodies, including large multi-academy trusts, to invest in maintaining and improving the condition of their school buildings, including any sixth form academies. This funding is calculated formulaically, and paid directly to the responsible bodies, without the need to apply. The department provides guidance on how funding is calculated and how it can be spent at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding.Smaller academy trusts and sixth form colleges are able to apply to the condition improvement fund (CIF), instead of receiving SCA. This is a bid-based fund for projects to address condition issues with buildings, with a focus on keeping them safe and in good working order. Guidance on the CIF can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-improvement-fund.The 2025/26 budget also includes £1.4 billion to support the current school rebuilding programme, reaffirming the department’s commitment to rebuilding or refurbishing 518 schools and sixth form colleges through the programme. Future capital funding for schools beyond 2025/26 will be confirmed following the next multi-year phase of the spending review.Any responsible body that has a significant safety issue with one of its buildings that cannot be managed through local resources can contact the department directly for advice and support.

When she plans to announce the allocation by local authority for the £740 million of SEND funding.

The department allocates capital funding to local authorities to support them to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision. Earlier this month, the department announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26.This capital funding can be used to adapt classrooms 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 create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.This will be used to deliver this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances while fixing the foundations of the school system.The department expects to confirm plans to allocate funding for the 2025/26 financial year by the end of March 2025 and will work with valued partners in the sector, schools, trusts and local authorities to ensure that children and young people can access the placements they need and deserve, restoring parents’ trust.

How many full-time equivalent civil servants are working on the Dawlish 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.

Media and Sport, how many full-time-equivalent civil servants are working on the short-term let registration scheme.

Four, plus a percentage of time from senior colleagues who provide oversight, and from analytical, legal, and digital specialists.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing vision rehabilitation services under the same (a) regulatory and (b) monitoring regimes as other adult social care services.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Colne Valley on 4 October 2024 to Question 7299.

Communities and Local Government, how much base funding she plans to provide for (a) domestic abuse and sexual violence and (b) drugs and alcohol services in Torbay constituency.

In 2024/25, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) allocated Torbay, as a Tier One authority, £321,538 to commission support for victims of domestic abuse and their children within safe accommodation locally.On 28 November, the Government announced a £30 million increase to the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant, bringing the total investment to £160 million in 2025-26. This funding will enable all local authorities in England to continue investing in essential support within frontline safe accommodation services, ensuring victims of domestic abuse can access the support they need. Individual allocations to local authorities will be published shortly.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides ringfenced funding to Police and Crime Commissioners for community-based support to victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly received £3,752,000 for 2024-25.Despite the challenging financial environment, MoJ ministers have decided to protect victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for sexual violence and domestic abuse support next year. This means that for 2025-26, the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) grant will be maintained at its current level (£21 million for 25-26). Recipients of the RASASF in Devon and Cornwall received a combined total of £782,500 for 2024-25.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment services. In addition to the Public Health Grant, DHSC allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024-25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from DHSC, MHCLG and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. As part of this, in 2024/25 Torbay received £798,783 through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant and £40,085 through the Inpatient Detoxification Grant. Now that the autumn budget has concluded, DHSC is working to announce future funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems.Funding from April 2026 will be a matter for Phase Two of the Spending Review.

What progress her Department has made on helping to improve Great Western Railway services on Sundays.

The recent performance of Great Western Railway (GWR) services on Sundays has not been good enough. Whilst many factors impact performance the recent increase in cancellations has been driven by the availability of traincrew. Officials are actively working with GWR and the wider industry to improve performance on Sundays.

What data his Department holds on the provision of vision rehabilitation support in England.

The Department does not collect or hold this information.

What steps her Department plans to take to ensure that touch screen card payment devices are made accessible for people with visual impairments.

The government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector. The Treasury has been engaging with UK Finance, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and other Government departments on the issue of accessibility of card payment terminals. UK Finance, the leading trade association for the banking sector, maintains voluntary standards to help ensure point-of-sale technology remains accessible for those who are visually impaired. UK Finance will soon be assessing potential initiatives to drive improvements and adoption. The Government is closely monitoring progress in this important area.

If he will take steps to ensure that the fee paid to deliver the Special Schools Eye Care Service is not reduced so that (a) children with Special Educational Needs can receive free eye care in schools and (b) eye care professionals can afford to provide the service.

To address the access challenges that children and young people with learning disabilities or autism, or both, face in accessing high street sight testing services, regulations were laid on 28 November to support the roll out of sight testing in special educational setting across England. NHS England has committed to invest up to £12.7 million annually from 2024/25 on the provision of sight tests and associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This represents an approximate 87% increase compared to previous levels of spending. This additional investment has the potential to increase coverage from 4% of special educational settings to 100%. NHS England has held a number of recent engagement events with potential providers across the country, and there has been healthy interest so far. NHS England will continue to engage with key stakeholders, including the ophthalmic and voluntary sector, and provide support to local integrated care boards, in the roll out of the service.

What steps he is taking to address eye care inequalities for adults with learning disabilities.

Alongside the duty placed upon integrated care boards to reduce inequalities, regulations were laid on 28 November to support the roll out of sight testing services in special educational settings across England, which has the potential to reach approximately 165,000 children and young people with learning disabilities or autism, or both.We are also working with NHS England to better integrate primary and secondary care services, and improve the referral, triage, and access to appropriate care for all patients. As part of this work, NHS England has conducted research to understand the experience of adults with learning disabilities in accessing eye care services, the intelligence from which will be used to inform future policy design.

How many and what proportion of pension credit applicants were waiting for their application to be processed in the period between (a) 29 July 2024 and 17 November 2024, (b) 1 April 2024 and 28 July 2024 and (c) 1 August 2023 and 19 November 2023.

We have provided outstanding Pension Credit claims at the date nearest to the date requested.(a) Outstanding PC claims as at end of w/c 11th November 2024 was 91,200 (including Unregistered and Advanced claims) (b) Outstanding PC claims as at end of w/c 22nd July 2024 was 34,600 (including Unregistered and Advanced claims) (c) Outstanding PC claims as at end of w/c 13th November 2023 was 25,000 (including Unregistered and Advanced claims) We are deploying around 500 additional staff to manage the increase in volumes. Please note, the claims outstanding figures do not include Advanced claims. This data is sourced from the Pension Credit system and for internal departmental use only. As such, they have not been quality assured to the same extent as Official Statistics.