Written questions by Dhesi.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure property management companies approved for the Cladding Safety Scheme are carrying out remediation works within a reasonable timeframe.

The Cladding Safety Scheme interacts with all applicants, including property management companies. We are a data-led programme and have designed key performance indicators into our system to ensure we can monitor and track progress and escalate applications as required. The system allows RAG ratings for all buildings to ensure that we are able to support and engage buildings experiencing delays or blockers. Where we experience delays with applications, we engage with applications to understand what the key blockers are and we are able to support them with Cladding Safety Scheme tools, such as instructing Client-Side Support for their applications.We receive regular updates on progress from applicants and a key tenet of the programme is ensuring leaseholders and residents receive regular communications from the applicant so that they are aware of progress. Our key focus is to support applications to ensure progress occurs at pace, to provide leaseholders and residents with the necessary comfort to know that their buildings will be remediated within a reasonable timeframe.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to support individuals whose mortgage offers have been withdrawn following investigations of malpractice in relation to the issuing of EWS1 forms.

As per the answer to Question UIN 31497 on 27 February 2025, my officials engage regularly with the mortgage lending industry to encourage them to take a proportional approach to buildings without an EWS1 (External Wall System Fire Review) or where there are concerns about the EWS1, and support leaseholders looking to sell or re-mortgage. It is important to note EWS1s are not a legal or regulatory requirement.Mortgage lenders who have signed the public statement on cladding (link here) should be open to approving mortgage applications for properties in buildings which require remediation, regardless of whether they accept the EWS1 for that building. Leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of pre-pack administration procedures.

In 2021, the Government’s review of the effectiveness of the voluntary pre-pack sales in administration measures recognised that some improvements needed to be made. Regulations were subsequently made which provide for greater scrutiny to assure stakeholders that such sales are appropriate.The regulations require connected parties to obtain an independent opinion on the purchase of a business and/or its assets where a pre-pack sale is proposed prior to its completion.The Government keeps these regulations under regular review.

What recent steps he has taken to support high street businesses in Slough.

This government is committed to supporting businesses and communities that make our high streets, including those in Slough, successful.This means addressing anti-social behaviour and crime, rolling out banking hubs, stamping out late payments, empowering communities to make the most of the vacant properties, strengthening the Post Office network, reforming the apprenticeship levy, and reforming business rates.We will also use High Street Rental Auctions, to provide local authorities in England with a tool to tackle vacancy, promote minimum letting standards for commercial units and flexible rents.DBT provides core funding for the Berkshire Growth Hub, which provides access to advice and support for local businesses. Slough council have also used UK Shared Prosperity Fund money to establish a new weekly market in Slough high street.Our Small Business Strategy Command Paper, to be published in 2025, will set out this government’s intentions on supporting small businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets.

Whether he has had recent discussions with Ofcom on its decision to investigate Royal Mail on the quality of service performance targets.

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector. As an independent regulator, it is for Ofcom to decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations. While the government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions, in January, I met with representatives from Ofcom to discuss the proposed changes to the universal service obligation and the importance of Royal Mail’s quality of service.

Whether she has taken recent steps to improve the resilience of railways to extreme weather conditions.

The Department for Transport has plans in place and underway with industry to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather caused by climate change on the railway.Network Rail, and the wider rail industry, are working to improve our resilience to climate change impacts and more widely to disruptive events. Network Rail published its fourth adaptation report in December 2024 which provided a more detailed and updated climate risk assessment and associated adaptation action. For the first time, two train operating companies published reports under the adaptation reporting power, recognising that the risks posed by the changing climate will affect their operations and customers too. In addition, adaptation commitments are being progressed in train operating companies' business plans for the first time.The Department is also planning to publish its finalised transport adaptation strategy which will set out priorities for adapting to climate change and help drive further engagement with industry.

Whether she has taken recent steps to improve the resilience of railways to landslips.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, has the main responsibility for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network from landslips. To this end, Network Rail has allocated £2.8 billion during Control Period 7 (2024-2029) to be invested on activities and technology to improve system wide resilience to extreme weather and climate change, including landslips.  These activities include both preventative and reactive measures, including reinforcing embankments, enhancing drainage systems, stabilising slopes, and using remote sensing and real-time monitoring to predict and monitor slope movements to enable early intervention.  Network Rail has recently invested £33m to prevent landslips on the Browney Curvey near Durham, £25m on the Severn Estuary line and £3.5m on the Edinburgh to Glasgow line.  Network Rail has also developed a range of measures to enable it to anticipate and mitigate disruption to the rail network caused by extreme weather, which are contained in its Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Plan.  These build on the recommendations of the Mair-Slingo reports, which were commissioned following the Stonehaven derailment in August 2020.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support Slough Borough Council to reduce homelessness.

Homelessness levels are far too high which can have a devastating impact on those affected.The Government is looking at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all. This is why we have committed to a total spend of nearly £1billion in 25/26 for homelessness, a record level of funding.In December, MHCLG announced that £633.2 million will be provided to councils in England through the Homelessness Prevention Grant 25/26, of which £2,538,151 has been allocated to Slough Borough Council. This funding represents an uplift of £1,184,119 for Slough compared with 24/25 allocations, an increase of 87.5%.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of Post Offices within (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

The Government protects the sustainability of the branch network by providing funding on the basis that the Post Office meets its minimum access criteria to ensure that, across the country, 99% of the population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office including those living in Slough and Berkshire. The Government works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria. Along with the annual £50 million subsidy, we are providing a further £37.5 million this year to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28567 on Permitted Development Rights, what her planned timetable is for amending the existing permitted development rights on heat pumps.

Further announcements in respect of permitted development rights for air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points will be made in the coming months.

What steps she is taking with local authorities to ensure adequate educational provision for schoolchildren with an education, health and care plan.

For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve, particularly through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes. The department is working closely with experts on reform, including a strategic advisor for SEND who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider next steps. The department has also listened to parents, local authority colleagues, and partners across education, health and social care and are considering carefully how to address and improve the experience of the EHC plan process for families and reflecting on what practice could or should be made consistent nationally. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so that more children and young people can achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. The department will strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive and support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise. Many mainstream settings are committed to delivering specialist provision locally including through resourced provision and special educational needs unit. Alongside this, we recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of specialist school placements available within Slough.

For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. We recognise the vital role that special schools play in catering to those with the most complex needs. We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. If a local authority identifies a shortage of special school places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating or expanding local provision to meet that need. The department’s officials in Regions Group will continue to work closely with Slough to provide support and advice to the local authority in meeting its statutory duty to provide sufficient places for pupils with SEND. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, or to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, as well as continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs. We will confirm local authority allocations to Slough for high needs capital funding in the spring.

What estimate he has made of the number of people who have been hospitalised as a result of weight loss drugs in each of the last five years.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions.Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, including GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs). We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.  When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk. New medicines, such as GLP-1 RAs, are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly.It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have been. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications. The decision to start, continue, or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of the benefits and risks. We strongly encourage patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs through our Yellow Card scheme.From the point of licensing up to and including 31 January 2025, the MHRA has received 573 Yellow Card reports for GLP-1 RAs indicated for weight management, where the patient was reported to have been hospitalised.As the use of the GLP-1 RAs increases, so have the number of Yellow Card reports associated with these medicines. Yellow Card reporting rates can be influenced by many factors, including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, their ease of recognition, and the extent of the use of a particular product. Reporting can also be stimulated by publicity and awareness of a product.The majority of Yellow Card reports for these medicines concern gastrointestinal effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, which are listed as recognised side effects within the product information for these products. These side effects were observed in the clinical trials for these products, with most events being mild to moderate in severity and of short duration. However, they can sometimes lead to more serious complications such as severe dehydration, resulting in hospitalisation.Saxenda (liraglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) are both approved for weight management in adults with obesity, or for those who are overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity, as well as in adolescents with obesity. Wegovy (semaglutide) is additionally indicated to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular problems in adults. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is indicated for both type 2 diabetes and weight management in adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity. Ozempic (semaglutide) has been authorised for the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Ozempic is not authorised for weight loss but is sometimes used off-label for that purpose.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of Royal Air Force fighter pilots.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continually assesses pilot numbers to appropriately resource the Combat Air Force and are comfortable with the number of Royal Air Force fighter pilots against extant Defence Tasks. The MOD has a range of governance measures in place to analyse UK Military Flying Training System throughput to ensure pilot numbers meet the demand for Defence both now and in the future. The MOD will continue to provide quarterly statistics to the Hon Gentleman’s select committee on pilot training as agreed in the last Parliament.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of water bill increases in the Thames Valley region on (a) consumers and (b) low income households.

Under the Conservatives, our sewage system crumbled. They irresponsibly let water companies divert customers’ money to line the pockets of their bosses and shareholders. The public are right to be angry after they have been left to pay the price of Conservative failure. For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Whilst bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways, we fully understand the financial pressures hardworking families are currently facing and are pushing the sector to ensure support is available for vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay their bills. The Government expects water companies to put robust support measures in place for customers to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country, including the Thames Valley, are supported. Water companies have more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help with their bills through social tariffs, from 4% to 9% by 2030, and the Government is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that customers are sufficiently supported. Furthermore, the Government expects companies to hold themselves accountable for their commitment to end Water Poverty by 2030 and will work with the sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to this end.

If he will make an estimate of the number of deaths caused by weight-loss drugs in each of the last five years.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.Patient safety is our top priority, and no medicine would be approved unless it met our expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Our role is to continually monitor the safety of medicines during their use, including GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs). We have robust, safety monitoring and surveillance systems in place for all healthcare products.  When a safety issue is confirmed, we always act promptly to inform patients and healthcare professionals and take appropriate steps to mitigate any identified risk. New medicines, such as GLP-1 RAs, are more intensively monitored to ensure that any new safety issues are identified promptly.It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.Based on the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 RAs outweigh the potential risks when used for the licensed indications. The decision to start, continue or stop treatments should be made jointly by patients and their doctor, based on full consideration of the benefits and risks. We strongly encourage patients and healthcare professionals to continue reporting suspected side effects to GLP-1 RAs through our Yellow Card scheme.The following table shows the number of Yellow Card reports received for each GLP1 RA with a fatal outcome up to and including 31 January 2025, along with the number of these which were reported with an indication relating to weight management:GLP1 RANumber of reports with a fatal outcome (of which include an indication relating to weight management)Semaglutide29 (4)Liraglutide35 (8)Tirzepatide18 (10)Source: MHRA databaseAs the use of the GLP-1 RAs increases, so have the number of Yellow Card reports associated with these medicines. Yellow Card reporting rates can be influenced by many factors including the seriousness of the adverse drug reactions, their ease of recognition and the extent of use of a particular product. Reporting can also be stimulated by publicity and awareness about a product.

What steps he has taken to help support recovery efforts following Storm Éowyn in Northern Ireland.

Hundreds of thousands of homes were affected by Storm Éowyn and I know the House would wish to express its thanks to all those who worked so hard to restore services.The Government worked closely with the NI Executive to ensure that all the help needed for Northern Ireland to recover was provided.

What recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the increase in the cost of first class stamps.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.As an independent business, Royal Mail’s management sets the prices for its services. The government does not have a role in the company’s day-to-day commercial or operational decisions. In setting its prices however, Royal Mail must work within the regulatory framework set by Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing permitted development rights.

The government has announced its intention to amend the existing permitted development rights for air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points to support homeowners. Further information is available on gov.uk here and here.We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

What recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle antisocial behaviour in (a) Slough and (b) Thames Valley.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, committed to a zero-tolerance approach to ASB. This will include a dedicated ASB lead officer in every police force working with communities to develop a local anti-social behaviour action plan. We will also put 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.This Government will strengthen the powers available to relevant agencies to tackle ASB. We recently announced Respect Orders, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders will be applied for by police and local councils and issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breach will be a criminal offence meaning officers can arrest and act quickly to disrupt ongoing ASB. Breaches will be heard in the criminal courts who will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.