Written questions by Anderson.

What steps his Department is taking to help support (a) high streets and (b) town centres in South Shropshire constituency.

This Department is committed to support constituencies like South Shropshire grow their high streets and town centres. Our Plan for Small Businesses sets out how government will work across departments to tackle high street decline.This year 500 towns including Ludlow and Bridgenorth developed local plans, as part of the Safer Streets Summer, to develop bespoke local action plans with police, businesses and local councils to crackdown on crime on the high street.SMEs on the high street will also benefit from the new tools to unlock access to finance, action to address late payments and regulatory costs, improve digital adoption and create easier pathways to business support through the Business Growth Service.

What assessment he has made of the role of the NHS in social care delivery.

Social care delivery is part of our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that shifts care from hospitals to communities, with more personalised, proactive and joined-up health and care services that help people stay independent for as long as possible. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and integrate health into the social fabric of places. This join-up is underpinned by improved national data and digital infrastructure to ensure health and care staff can access real-time information to improve the safety and quality of care.

What steps his Department is taking to help support households that are off the (a) gas and (b) electricity grid to improve their energy efficiency.

We expect transitioning to clean heat will involve installing a heat pump for most off-gas-grid properties as these are cost-effective, proven technologies. The government has announced measures to support consumers with heat pump installations. The government recognises heat pumps may not be a feasible option for all properties and we are committed to ensuring that there is the right solution for every household. Other low carbon heating technologies are available and the governments offers grants of £5,000 for biomass boilers under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Research is underway to collect data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the land use framework will support sustainable food production on farms.

The Land Use Consultation launched this year was underpinned by analysis of land use change for nature restoration and other objectives. This included analysis of potential spatial distributions of change to 2050, taking account of land’s suitability for food production. Alongside the formal consultation, Defra ran and participated in several different engagement events across England to ensure that farmers’ and food producers’ views were heard. The Department led six regional workshops and regional focus groups, supported five regional workshops run by external organisations, and attended several wider meetings, conferences and discussions. When published, the Land Use Framework will set out the evidence, data and tools needed to help safeguard our most productive agricultural land.

Communities and Local Government, what funding is available for community ownership projects.

The government is committed to supporting community ownership and empowering local people to take control of valued community assets.As part of the forthcoming English Devolution Bill, this government will legislate to introduce a new Community Right to Buy. This will enable communities to acquire assets such as empty shops, pubs, and community spaces when they come up for sale, helping to bring them back into community use and tackle the issue of vacant premises on high streets.In addition, the government has launched the Pride in Place programme, which will invest up to £5 billion over ten years, supporting 244 places across the United Kingdom. Community ownership projects such as youth clubs, libraries, community grocers, cultural venues, and health and wellbeing services will be eligible for support where they align with the needs and ambitions of local communities.We have also launched the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with £150 million to invest in up to 95 communities, helping to rebuild community pride in local areas. One of the objectives is to support community spaces; creating, extending, improving or refurbishing existing community facilities and enabling community organisations to take control or ownership of underused but valued local assets.

Communities and Local Government, what support his Department plans to provide through the Plan for Neighbourhoods to (a) towns and (b) villages in South Shropshire constituency.

On 25 September the government announced the Pride in Place Programme, supporting 244 of Great Britain’s most in need neighbourhoods with up to £20 million each over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.New areas across England were selected using a robust, metrics-based methodology based on deprivation (the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and community need (the Community Needs Index) to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes. The Pride in Place strategy sets out how this government will support all places throughout the UK, with communities given new tools and powers to shape their neighbourhoods in a way that is truly reflective of local need. We want to make it as easy as possible for communities in places such as South Shropshire to make the changes they want to see, acknowledging that local people are best placed to understand local priorities.The full list of areas and place selection methodology was published and is set out on gov.uk here.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to launch a smaller village halls grants scheme.

While there are currently no plans to launch a new smaller village hall grants scheme, we continue to support village halls through the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund. This scheme has provided grants to help modernise facilities, improve accessibility, and enhance energy efficiency.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken to implement gigabit rollout in rural areas on those areas.

More than £2.4 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed to connect over one million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband. These premises fall predominantly in rural areas. As of the end of March 2025, over 1.2 million premises had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.The connections delivered by Project Gigabit benefit rural and hard to reach communities, helping households and businesses access the digital connectivity needed to transform lives and drive economic growth.We are committed to ensuring 99% of premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032.

If he will take steps to introduce a young cancer patients travel fund.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to the Rt Hon. Member for Clapham and Brixton Hill on 1 April 2025 to Question 42011.

Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) financial and (b) legal support has been made available for local nature recovery strategies.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) were established by the Environment Act 2021. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations and have regard to LNRS statutory guidance when preparing the LNRS for their area. Over FY23/24 and FY24/25, Defra provided a total of £14 million to responsible authorities to prepare LNRSs. Further funding has been made available to responsible authorities in the current financial year to support their transition to leading and coordinating delivery of the LNRS for their area. Defra and Arm’s Length Bodies have provided advice to responsible authorities to help them prepare their LNRS but have not provided direct legal support to individual responsible authorities. Responsible authorities are able to use the funding they have been provided to obtain legal support if they choose to do so.

What assessment she has made of the number of police forces.

This Government is committed to addressing the strategic challenges policing faces. We specifically recognise the problems around fragmentation and resultant inefficiencies across the 43 police forces, which many police system leaders have highlighted.The policing system must be equipped to serve the public effectively and to make efficient use of its funding and resources. This is why the Home Office will publish a White Paper on police reform later this year. It will include a comprehensive package of reforms to policing in England and Wales that will drive quality, consistency and efficiency.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support for community land projects.

The government recognises that the community-led housing sector delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy. In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area. The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.

What steps he is taking as part of the Valour programme to support veterans in South Shropshire constituency.

This Government remains committed to delivering on our manifesto promise to ensure that veterans in South Shropshire and across the country achieve the recognition, support and opportunities they deserve.That is why we recently launched VALOUR, our commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support. This will be an institutionally resilient system that will reform the system at the local, the regional, and the national level, ensuring that support is available across the country, and that it is tailored to the needs of veterans in the communities where they live.The VALOUR pilot was launched on 26 June 2025, in partnership with Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire, and will help to develop a blueprint to roll out VALOUR across the country next year.Details regarding the VALOUR development funding will be released in the coming months. Existing organisations throughout South Shropshire will be able to apply for this funding and, if successful, will be recognised as a VALOUR support centre. This process will recognise existing best practice in local communities, while maintaining agility and flexibility across the sector.I would ask the hon. Member to encourage organisations and veterans in your constituency to sign up for updates and to register their interest in taking part in future surveys or focus groups on VALOUR. This collaborative approach will ensure that this service works for those who need it. More information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/valour-information-and-next-steps

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish a call for evidence on park home sales commission.

The government recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home.The previous government published a report in June 2022 on the impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission. It can be found on gov.uk here.We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of a single remote gambling duty on the sustainability of the horseracing sector.

The Government consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one closed on 21 July 2025. The proposed changes are intended to reduce complexity and improve compliance. The Government engaged with a range of stakeholders, including the horse racing sector throughout the consultation period and is now analysing submissions. The potential impact on horseracing and its workforce as well as the broader economic and social implications will be considered carefully as part of the process. If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, the legislation will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending permitted development rights on farm productivity.

The Government’s commitment to farming and food security remains steadfast, which is why the government is investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. Our recent food strategy publication committed to a joined-up approach across the food system to supporting healthy resilient and sustainable food production. Planning reforms are one of several levers the government is using to support farmers. As part of this, Defra hosted a series of planning reform roundtables in June, led by Minister Zeichner, to discuss planning issues affecting farmers and is now considering the feedback.

Whether he is taking steps to increase the number of apprenticeships within his Department.

We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across the civil service to break down barriers to opportunity. The Scotland Office considers the use of apprenticeships for all relevant recruitment campaigns.

Whether she is taking steps to increase the number of apprenticeships within her Department.

Apprenticeships are available to new and existing Wales Office staff and my Department promotes these opportunities through Ministry of Justice (MoJ) intranet bulletins and Wales Office staff newsletters. When vacancies arise, the Department also considers if posts may be advertised as apprenticeships.

What steps he is taking to increase apprenticeship opportunities within his Department.

In DBT, apprenticeships remain a core element of the learning and development offer for all employees. We are taking active steps to continue to increase apprenticeship opportunities within the Department, with commitment to our recently launched DBT Apprenticeship Plan for 2025-2026. This includes offering all new Executive Officer (EO) vacancies as apprenticeships, encouraging those at the start of their careers to consider an apprenticeship route as default.DBT are also committed to support the new ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA) Programme which seeks to support individuals kickstarting their careers whilst undertaking the Level 3 Business Administration Apprenticeship, with placements launching across government and within DBT in January 2026.DBT also supports the Government’s commitment to improving digital skills through the TechTrack scheme which is committed to supporting 2,000 digital apprenticeships by 2030.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding has been allocated to local environmental improvement projects through the Water Restoration Fund.

The Water Restoration Fund (WRF) was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties back into projects to improve the water environment. Successful applicants have been notified, with a total of £11 million, based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023, due to be invested into local projects to improve our waterways. Going forwards, this government has announced that over £100 million in fines and penalties levied against water companies since October 2023, as well as future fines and penalties, will be reinvested into projects to clean up our waters, which could include local environmental programmes to address pollution and improve water quality. Further details on the projects and programmes that this funding will go towards will be set out later in the year.