Written questions by Braverman.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) trends in the level of illegal hare coursing and (b) the potential impact of illegal hare coursing on rural communities.

Wildlife crimes such as hare coursing are not ‘notifiable’ so there are no official Home Office statistics or identifiable trends to judge robustly whether such crimes are increasing or decreasing across the country. Decisions on whether to make wildlife crimes notifiable sit with the Home Office. It is reasonable to assume that measures introduced in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, along with improved police tactics, intelligence and information sharing as well as the use of community protection notices (CPN) and criminal behaviour orders (CBO), has had an effect in terms of reducing levels of hare coursing.

Food and Rural Affairs, what changes she plans to make to the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme in the next financial year.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has received from farmers on the accessibility of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme.

Defra is working closely with farmers and industry stakeholders to design a future Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer that will better target the SFI in an orderly way towards our priorities for food, farming and nature. Information and plans for the next iteration of the scheme will be published in due course.

Whether she plans to allocate additional resources to rural police forces to help tackle rural crime.

The Government is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle a range of different crimes. The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years. The allocation of funding to police forces remains an important consideration and as with previous years, more details on force funding allocations for 2026-27, including decisions on police force funding allocations, will be made via the provisional police funding settlement later in the year.It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including Mayors who exercise PCC or equivalent functions, to take decisions around their resourcing. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.Through our Safer Streets Mission, 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. The Home Office have worked closely with the National Police Chief’s Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2029. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

What recent discussions his Department has had with independent pharmacies on (a) funding, (b) supply chain reform and (c) workforce levels.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy contactors including independent pharmacies. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, namely over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. On 15 August 2025, the Government published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. We will continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other stakeholders across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions. Regarding the pharmacy workforce, as private businesses pharmacy employers have a clear role to ensure staff levels are adequate to deliver commissioned NHS services. The annual community pharmacy workforce survey provides data on current workforce levels. The survey is an important tool to help inform workforce planning for employers and NHS integrated care boards. The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey data is available at the following link:https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/09aa8f38-547a-46b7-a117-2cb710ad939b/https-www-hee-nhs-uk-our-work-pharmacy-community-pharmacy-workforce-surveyWe will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of 2025. This will look at how healthcare professionals can work at the top of their skills, and ask what workforce we need, what they should do, where they should be deployed and what skills they should have.To support pharmacy employers develop their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of workforce levels on the ability of community pharmacies to meet service demands.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England, which represents all pharmacy contactors including independent pharmacies. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service at the time, namely over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.The resilience of United Kingdom supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. On 15 August 2025, the Government published a policy paper, Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. We will continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other stakeholders across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions. Regarding the pharmacy workforce, as private businesses pharmacy employers have a clear role to ensure staff levels are adequate to deliver commissioned NHS services. The annual community pharmacy workforce survey provides data on current workforce levels. The survey is an important tool to help inform workforce planning for employers and NHS integrated care boards. The Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey data is available at the following link:https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/09aa8f38-547a-46b7-a117-2cb710ad939b/https-www-hee-nhs-uk-our-work-pharmacy-community-pharmacy-workforce-surveyWe will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan by the end of 2025. This will look at how healthcare professionals can work at the top of their skills, and ask what workforce we need, what they should do, where they should be deployed and what skills they should have.To support pharmacy employers develop their staff and deliver quality NHS services, NHS England provides several fully funded national training opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This includes independent prescriber training, clinical examination skills, and training the next generation of education supervisors.

Whether his Department plans to introduce an updated long-term funding model for community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding levels for community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion, in agreement with Community Pharmacy England. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future funding arrangements will be subject to Spending Review allocations to the Department and, as customary, consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

Whether his Department is taking steps to formally recognise the contribution of community pharmacies to (a) NHS service delivery and (b) public health outcomes.

This Government has repeatedly publicly recognised the valuable contribution to the National Health Service that community pharmacy makes as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the NHS, delivering a range of clinical services, providing access to medicine and supporting a range of public health outcomes.That is why we agreed to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework by £617 million across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26, showing a commitment to rebuilding the sector.We have further recognised, in our 10-Year Health Plan, that we can better use the skills of community pharmacy teams by expanding the services they offer and ensuring their vital role is recognised as we develop Neighbourhood Health Services helping to deliver the shift of care from hospitals into the community.

What steps his Department is taking to reform the (a) procurement and (b) supply chain of medications to (i) ensure timely availability and (ii) reduce shortages at community pharmacies.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages.As outlined in our recently published policy paper, ‘Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines’, the Government is committed to building on the important actions already underway across the system to minimise disruption for patients and enhance resilience in our supply chains. The publication includes a number of actions, including:consulting on better reporting of supply issues;consulting on pharmacist flexibilities to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative if they do not have the exact prescribed item available, under certain circumstances;publishing information guides for patients, community pharmacies and general practices about what to do when faced with supply issues; andproviding shortage information at the point of prescribing in general practice.We will continue to engage with community pharmacy, industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver these actions.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to farmers facing financial hardship due to (a) extreme weather events and (b) market volatility.

For farm businesses to stay viable in an increasingly uncertain world, they must be able to profit from other activities. The Government is offering a New Deal for Farmers to help address this. We have allocated a record £11.8bn to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, protected farmers in trade deals and unlocked new markets for British produce, and extended the Season Worker Visa Scheme for 5 years. We have started to make the supply chain fairer, and we want our farmers to be primed to bid for a fair share of the £5 billion pounds a year spent on public-sector food and catering contracts.

What support her Department provides to schools that host PGCE students; and what assessment she has made of the contribution of this to teacher recruitment and retention in Hampshire.

High-quality teaching has the strongest positive impact on pupil outcomes in schools, which is why this government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers, including in science subjects, backed by a near 10% pay award since July 2024.To aid recruitment, the department is providing teacher training financial incentives worth nearly £233 million, including bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships up to £31,000 tax-free, in science subjects. We are also providing retention incentives for early career science teachers worth up to £6000, with 39 schools in Hampshire qualifying for these.Schools that host trainee placements leading to qualified teacher status, including those studying a PGCE, can claim funding to help cover the time staff members spend mentoring, given the importance of peer-to-peer support. In 2024/25, the department welcomed over 23,100 new postgraduate trainee teachers, an increase of 8% compared to 2023/24. In 2024/25, 399 trainees began postgraduate teacher training in Hampshire, compared to 317 in 2023/24.The department’s interventions are having a positive impact, with the teaching workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. In the South East, the number of secondary school teachers increased by 221.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the shortage of science teachers in Hampshire; and what support is available for schools relying on supply staff.

High-quality teaching has the strongest positive impact on pupil outcomes in schools, which is why this government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers, including in science subjects, backed by a near 10% pay award since July 2024.To aid recruitment, the department is providing teacher training financial incentives worth nearly £233 million, including bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships up to £31,000 tax-free, in science subjects. We are also providing retention incentives for early career science teachers worth up to £6000, with 39 schools in Hampshire qualifying for these.Schools that host trainee placements leading to qualified teacher status, including those studying a PGCE, can claim funding to help cover the time staff members spend mentoring, given the importance of peer-to-peer support. In 2024/25, the department welcomed over 23,100 new postgraduate trainee teachers, an increase of 8% compared to 2023/24. In 2024/25, 399 trainees began postgraduate teacher training in Hampshire, compared to 317 in 2023/24.The department’s interventions are having a positive impact, with the teaching workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. In the South East, the number of secondary school teachers increased by 221.

Whether she plans to review the effectiveness of the national funding education formula in reflecting socioeconomic disparities within counties.

In the 2025/26 financial year, 10.6% (£5.1 billion) of the schools national funding formula (NFF) has been allocated through deprivation factors, as part of the 17.8% (£8.6 billion) allocated for additional needs overall. The most deprived schools continue, on average, to attract the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools NFF. This helps schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps.The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs, such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language, receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils.The government will keep the operation of the schools NFF for the 2026/27 financial year and future years under review.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to schools that have amended their subject curricula due to staff shortages.

Schools have the flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils and to suit their local contexts.There is no prescription about the number of teaching hours for each subject, or about the format of lessons. It is for schools to decide how much time is spent on any subject.As part of our Plan for Change, the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.In 2024/25, we drove forward teacher recruitment and retention, backed by investment of around £700 million across schools and further education. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools where they are needed most. This includes 1,435 more secondary school teachers and 911 more special and pupil referral unit teachers compared to last year.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools with increases in the number of in-year admissions in Hampshire.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.The department engages with local authorities, including Hampshire County Council, on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional school places. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, the department offers support and advice.The department also provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty to secure sufficient school places. Hampshire has been allocated just over £22.2 million to support it to create the mainstream school places needed between May 2024 and September 2028.The Schools Admissions Code also requires every local authority to have a Fair Access Protocol in place, to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible, minimising the time the child is out of school.

What support her Department is providing to schools in Hampshire schools with (a) increased class sizes and (b) reduced staffing levels due to budget constraints.

Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Hampshire is receiving £1.1 billion for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year. That is equivalent to £6,031 per pupil (excluding growth and falling rolls funding), which is an increase of 2.4% per pupil compared to 2024/25.On top of the DSG funding, the department is providing additional funding to support schools with increases to employer National Insurance Contributions, and the costs of the teacher and local government support staff pay awards in 2025/26.The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support to help schools better manage their budgets. Schools are already bringing core operating costs down through initiatives such as our new ‘Energy for Schools’ offer. Additionally, they can access services such as the ‘Get Help Buying for Schools’ service to get best value when procuring goods and our ‘Teaching Vacancies Service’ to save recruitment costs.

Whether her Department has received representations from (a) employers and (b) industry bodies on barriers to hiring young apprentices due to health and safety regulations.

Under health and safety law, employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of all employees, of any age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that should be made for young people, including apprentices. Regulation 19 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, deals specifically with employers' responsibilities to protect the health and safety of young people at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides extensive guidance on its website, to help employers support the important contribution that apprentices make to the world of work, whilst ensuring that risks to their health and safety are properly assessed and controlled. The guidance was last updated in 2022 under the previous administration.

Whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) potential impact of the regulatory framework for health and safety on the ability of firms to offer entry-level apprenticeships to young people.

Under health and safety law, employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of all employees, of any age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that should be made for young people, including apprentices. Regulation 19 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, deals specifically with employers' responsibilities to protect the health and safety of young people at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides extensive guidance on its website, to help employers support the important contribution that apprentices make to the world of work, whilst ensuring that risks to their health and safety are properly assessed and controlled. The guidance was last updated in 2022 under the previous administration.

What steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to ensure that health and safety requirements for young apprentices (a) are proportionate and (b) do not deter employers from offering placements.

Under health and safety law, employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of all employees, of any age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that should be made for young people, including apprentices. Regulation 19 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, deals specifically with employers' responsibilities to protect the health and safety of young people at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides extensive guidance on its website, to help employers support the important contribution that apprentices make to the world of work, whilst ensuring that risks to their health and safety are properly assessed and controlled. The guidance was last updated in 2022 under the previous administration.