Written questions by Anderson.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on decreasing the number of properties required to trigger the flooding recovery framework.

The Flood Recovery Framework provides swift, responsive financial support packages to communities, households and businesses suffering the impacts of severe flooding with schemes from MHCLG, DBT and Defra. A review of the Framework is currently underway and we expect this to report on progress later in the autumn.

What steps she is taking to help Police and Crime Commissioners tackle (a) rural crime and (b) agricultural theft.

This Government is committed to reducing crime and disorder in rural areas, given the devastating impact rural crime can have on communities. Under our reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.We are also committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

What steps he is taking to increase energy efficiency in (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) other public sector buildings.

The Government continues to improve the energy efficiency of hospitals, schools and other public buildings primarily though the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which provides public sector organisations a funding stream to help them install low carbon heating and efficiency measures. The current application round for funding is open for applications until 25 November 2024. In addition over £80m has been made available through the Low Carbon Skills Fund for owners of public sector buildings to develop their decarbonisation plans.

What steps he is taking to increase the (a) availability and (b) affordability of Post Office services in rural areas.

To help ensure that there are affordable post office services in rural areas, the government provides an annual £50m network subsidy to support the delivery of both a minimum number of branches and strong geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria.

When he expects the publication of the National Screening Committee’s review for prostate cancer.

The UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) evidence review for prostate cancer screening is already underway, and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential health impacts of means-testing the winter fuel payment.

No such discussions took place. The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS. The UK Health Security Agency publishes the Adverse Weather and Health Plan for England, which sets out a framework for action to protect the population from harm to their health from adverse weather including excess cold and outlines the health risks of cold homes. Each year the NHS makes robust plans for expected winter pressures. It is important that NHS trusts and local authorities take a joined-up approach to winter planning across the health and care system. NHS England and DHSC wrote to local authorities and NHS trusts on 16 September to set out a national approach to 2024/25 winter planning, and the key steps to be taken to support the delivery of high-quality care for patients this winter.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve gigabit broadband connectivity in (a) South Shropshire constituency and (b) other rural areas.

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, 99% of premises in the South Shropshire constituency have access to superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and 48% can access a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection.Remaining premises that are not expected to receive a gigabit-capable connection through suppliers’ commercial rollout are being considered for support through Project Gigabit. This includes approximately 3,400 premises in the constituency that are currently in scope of Project Gigabit contracts across Shropshire.Overall, 36 Project Gigabit contracts, with a total value of over £1.9 billion, have been signed to date, to bring gigabit-capable broadband to over 1 million rural and hard-to-reach homes and businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to increase engagement with public consultations undertaken by Forestry England.

Forestry England remains committed to ensuring the public has the opportunity to comment on its future plans, such as in cases of new woodland creation. Forestry England will continue to make sure that its consultation process supports its duty to balance and maximise the multiple benefits offered by forestry as a land use.

Whether he is taking steps to (a) increase funding available and (b) improve recruitment for community hospitals.

Departmental budgets for 2025/26 will be confirmed at my Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s next Budget, on 30 October 2024. We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. There are a number of national recruitment programmes, aimed at increasing recruitment by widening access, supporting diversity, and attracting people new to care from local communities, as well as improving recruitment processes via the national Entry Careers programme and national Overhauling Recruitment programme. The Overhauling Recruitment programme seeks to support all National Health Service providers, including community hospitals. The national programme maintains a strong collaborative approach with regions as experts in their area, knowing their systems, geography, and demographics at a local employment level.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of resources to support the further education sector in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas.

Further education (FE) plays a critical role in delivering the government’s missions and ensuring that everyone has access to the opportunities they need, breaking down the barriers to their success and boosting economic growth.FE funding, including the adequacy of resources across the country including South Shropshire and other rural areas, will be considered as part of the Spending Review.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to respond formally to the Electoral Commission's report entitled Voter ID at the 2024 UK general election.

Yes – the Government intends to respond to the Electoral Commission’s interim report on the UK Parliamentary General Election. We understand that the Commission will publish their full report later this year, and we intend to respond to both reports together in due course.

What discussions she has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Minister for the Cabinet Office on establishing a compensation scheme for women affected by changes to the state pension age.

In the course of conducting the business of her Department, the Secretary of State has many discussions with Cabinet colleagues. As stated on 07 October (Women’s State Pension Age: Compensation - Hansard - UK Parliament), I am the first Minister in eight years to meet WASPI campaigners to hear their experiences directly. The Ombudsman’s report took five years to complete and deserves serious consideration. This Government respects the work of the Ombudsman and we are currently working through all aspects of the Ombudsman’s final report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 for small businesses in supply chains.

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in a vibrant and flexible UK defence industry, delivering innovation and supporting a wide variety of high quality jobs across the United Kingdom. The Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy will both help make defence a more attractive market for SMEs by encouraging small businesses to contribute fully in Defence procurement and make the most of future growth within the Defence supply chain.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure as many people as are eligible sign up for Pension Credit in (a) South Shropshire, (b) the West Midlands and (c) across England.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions wrote to all local authorities on 20 August. The letter acknowledged the vital role local authorities play in supporting their communities. The Government recognises that many local authorities already do a huge amount of work to promote benefit take-up. We are asking that local authorities support our national Pension Credit Awareness campaign and help us reach those eligible pensioners who have not claimed Pension Credit, so they continue to receive an annual Winter Fuel Payment.Building on last year’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial, the Department will be directly contacting approximately 120,000 pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit.The Government is determined to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need. As part of the recent Pension Credit Awareness Week of Action, we joined forces with national charities, broadcasters, and local authorities to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim.From 16 September, we are running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.Our future campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.We will work with external partners, local authorities, and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.

How many recruits for the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been trained by (a) UK armed forces and (b) international partners based in the UK since 2014.

This Government is proud of the role UK forces have played in training Ukrainian Armed Forces recruits. Since Putin's invasion of Crimea in 2014, the UK has trained over 77,000 Ukrainian personnel. This includes. · Op ORBITAL (2015-2022) - Over 22,000 Ukrainian personnel.· Op INTERFLEX (2022-ongoing) - Over 47,000 Ukrainian personnel.· Wider medical, specialist, air, and maritime training (2022-ongoing) - Over 8,000 Ukrainian personnel. This training has been provided in collaboration with twelve partner nations. We do not hold data for the total number of Ukrainian personnel trained by international partners since 2014.

What his policy is on the future of Operation Interflex.

On 6 September 2024 at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group the Defence Secretary announced that the hugely successful UK led Op INTERFLEX, which has trained over 47,000 Ukrainian personnel, will continue until at least the end of 2025.The announcement highlights that the UK remains ironclad in its commitment to meeting Ukraine's training requirements now and in future.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of NHS provision for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of ADHD and ASD in South Shropshire.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB advises that from April 2024, the contract for children and young people’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD services has received a significant funding uplift to support improved access. In respect of adult services, the ICB advises that the adult ADHD assessment service is currently under procurement, with the aim of ensuring more accessible and tailored support, and the ICB has recently partnered with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to expand adult ASD assessments.